Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates
by XrhiaX
Summary: Twisty Zutara, zesty Taang and sweet Sukka thrown into a high school! Dark themed at times, just like life. My first/only High School fic, if you liked The Vacation, What If etc. You'll love this!  T for swearing, implied sex. Ch. 21 SEASON FINALE, IS UP!
1. Crunchie

Katara gave a chilly breath, glancing at her brother with a slight smirk and raising the bottle of Budweiser to her lips. "Here's to … what should we toast to?"

"To mom." Sokka smiled slowly, raising his beer bottle up to the thin sliver of a crescent moon as he leant against the railing of the small balcony that protruded from his sister's bedroom.

"Here, here." Katara smiled back, up-ending the rest of her beer. She frowned, taking it away from her mouth empty. "This is pathetic, you know? There's a bunch of New Years parties going on right now."

"What? You don't want to stand here drinking beer with your big brother?" Sokka patted her on the back, before taking another swig of Budweiser.

"You'd much rather be with Suki right now. The only reason you're here is because you don't want me to be alone. Well, that and you're Suki's bitch right now." Katara hurled the bottle and waited for it to smash on the street below. It let out a satisfying smash as it broke, shattering into tiny shards across the sidewalk she could see. "This is really just pathetic."

"How is it pathetic?" Sokka looked at her.

"Have you met me?" Katara let out a humorless laugh. "I don't get depressed." She met Sokka's skeptical gaze. "Oh, right. Well, not over boys anyway."

"Well I mean … you and Jet _were_ pretty serious."

Katara glared at Sokka. "I'm not upset about him dumping me. I'm upset that he did it in front of like, _everyone_ we know, in the middle of town."

Sokka paused for a moment, tilted his empty bottle and looked away from his sister. "You want to go to a party? Zuko's got all the booze you can drink at his place."

Katara laughed at her brother. "Okay. Can I throw that?" she pointed to his bottle. With a supportive smile, Sokka handed her the bottle and watched her launch it across the suburban paradise. It smashed into the side of a house, causing Katara to pull a face and pull her brother back into her bedroom to avoid someone seeing them.

* * *

><p>Sokka banged his fist on the large door at the front of the mansion, hitting the doorbell again with his other hand. The hood of Katara's blue hoody was pulled up over her head as she looked down at her black sneakers. Music was pumping loudly inside.<p>

"Hey!" Sokka shouted, hitting the door again.

One of the double doors opened to reveal a familiar smiling face. "Would you like a wrecking ball? Maybe you can knock it down a little faster." Zuko smirked, opening the door to let his friend in. Sokka stepped in, revealing his sister behind him. Zuko's face immediately dropped. "Hey, I saw what happened earlier at the mall. Are you okay?" Zuko asked tentatively.

"I'm fine." Katara looked up and smiled briefly, walking in. Zuko shut the door behind her.

"Good. Don't let that jerk bother you." Zuko put a hand on her back, leading them to the large hall were a huge crowd had assembled. Sokka grinned at the crowd.

"So where's your dad?" Sokka turned to look at Zuko.

Zuko shrugged, a grin forming on his own face. "Denver, I think." He looked up the large stairs to see people dancing on them to the music beating from huge speakers near the bottom of the steps.

"And your sister?"

"With Mai and Ty Lee at the beach. They'll probably end up staying the night at Chan's and then spend the day there tomorrow." Zuko's grin drooped a little, before he tugged the siblings into the crowd, toward a drinks table. He grabbed up two beers, handed them off to them and grabbed his own. "Come with me." He headed toward the base of the stairs. They followed him upstairs.

Sokka brought his eyebrows down in thought as he clasped a bottle in his hand. "Why are they at the beach? It's supposed to snow tonight." He asked as he faced Zuko's back.

"Sorority thing, I guess. They're doing those stupid pledges again." Zuko ground his teeth, freehandedly pulling the cap off his bottle. "You'd think they'd have stopped after what happened last summer."

"No kidding." Sokka shook his head as Zuko pushed open his bedroom door.

"Everyone out!" Zuko grabbed the emergency soda bottle at the foot of his door and shook it up, handing his beer to Sokka. Sokka and Katara pressed their backs against the hallway wall as soaking wet teenagers swarmed out of the room whining and complaining. Sokka smirked, catching sight of one of his school rivals storming out covered in cola. The siblings walked into Zuko's room, a black and red room with a few gold accents like the curtains and a few trophies and knickknacks here and there.

A sofa and recliner sat in one corner of his massive bedroom surrounding a black coffee table that harbored a few music books and some math homework with a worn textbook beside it. His bed was a king size with horizontal red and black stripes on the top sheet, and despite the family maid's love of throw pillows, he only had two, a collapsed red one on the left side and an untouched black one on the right. A red neon lamp stood on a dark wooden nightstand at the left side of the bed, with a half-consumed Stephen King book lying pages-down at the base of the lamp. The walls were painted a dark scarlet red and the floor was carpeted in black. One wall opened up a wooden sliding door out onto a large stone balcony with wooden flooring and a garden swing on it.

"Uh … what happened last summer?" Katara asked, pushing back her hood and scraping off the cap of her beer on the nightstand near Zuko's bed.

Zuko sank down in his recliner as Sokka sat down on the couch. "Azula had a group pledge in the woods. One of the girls never came back and the next morning the police found her hung to death in a tree." Sokka shivered at the thought.

Katara's mouth fell open as she sat down next to Sokka. "You're messing with me." She looked at him sheepishly.

Zuko shook his head and leant forwards, snatching his beer from Sokka. "No, he's not. Azula nearly did juvie time for being the last person to have seen the girl. Turned out some psycho had found out they were doing the pledges that night and he'd been waiting there for them." Zuko knocked back a merciless sip of his drink. "I mean, Azula's not the best sister ever, but … you know, I can't imagine what could've happened."

"Wow." Katara looked down to the beer bottle in her hands, before taking a polite sip.

"Chill, Zuko, this is supposed to be a party." Sokka held up his bottle to toast. Zuko and Katara knocked their bottles with Sokka's, celebrating with him.

"Hey, what time is it?" Zuko glanced at the wristwatch on Sokka's arm.

"Oh, uh …" he looked down at it. "Half past eleven." He looked back up.

"Great; you guys can catch the fireworks." Zuko put his bottle down on the coffee table as his phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it. "This can't be good." He looked to Sokka as he brought it to his ear. "Zuko here." He asked suspiciously. "Azula- what are you-," Zuko interrupted himself to laugh. "Really? You called to tell me that?"

Sokka smirked, knowing what was going to happen now.

"Uh- no, I really don't- uh, Hi Mai." Zuko let out a disgruntled breath. "Are you drunk too?"

There was a loud laugh on the phone. Well, Ty Lee was anyway.

"Snowing- yeah, Azula just told me." Zuko looked over his shoulder at his open balcony door. The snow was falling heavily. "Mai, you're … yeah, Mai, you need to stop drinking now. I'm serious." Suddenly Zuko's face went completely red and his mouth opened as if to answer, but he couldn't find any words. He looked up to see Sokka with his hands over his mouth, struggling to keep his laugh in. He pushed a button on his phone and cleared his throat. "Uh … could you repeat that?" He'd put the phone on speaker.

"What? Why … you heard me fine. Come on, I'm drunk. You can … I don't know, take advantage of me or whatever." She suddenly let out one of the first laughs Zuko had ever heard her let out. Sokka burst into laughter, before slapping his hands over his mouth again. Katara covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

Zuko struggled to keep himself from laughing too. "Can you put my sister on?"

"Suuurrreee."

"Hello? Zuzu?"

"Hey, you guys need to stop drinking if you're planning on getting home before the countdown." Zuko lifted his beer bottle again.

"No, I think we're going to go to Chan's for the countdown. You know, to keep you from _taking advantage_ of poor Mai." Azula joked drunkenly.

Zuko laughed. "Right. So you're going to _Chan's._" Zuko scoffed. "Okay, have fun." He pulled the phone from his ear and pressed another button. "You know, when she's drunk she'd almost pass for a human being." Zuko guzzled down some more beer.

Sokka wiped his eye from laughter. "Mai was … I couldn't believe she said that!" Sokka laughed hysterically.

"Me neither." Zuko smirked, putting his phone on the coffee table. "Girls are crazy." He shook his head with a slight smile. "No offense." He glanced at Katara.

"None taken." Katara smiled fully, pouring some beer down her throat as the end of the bottle tipped upwards.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Sokka reached for the bottle she held to her mouth.

Katara turned away, finishing the drink. She pulled it away and grinned at Sokka. "Too late." she looked at Zuko, who was up-ending the last of his own beer.

"You two are a real pair, you know that? You'll meet each other when you're in your forties at an AA meeting." Sokka grabbed Katara's empty bottle.

"What's with you?" Katara raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"If you have a hangover tomorrow morning, Dad will kill me." Sokka answered calmly, putting her empty bottle on the coffee table.

"Relax, Sokka. It's a party." Zuko drummed his fingers against the textbook on the coffee table.

"Yeah, Sokka." Katara grinned again at her brother. Sokka shook his head and looked back to his watch.

"It's quarter to midnight." He looked back up to Zuko, who was getting up.

"Time for the Fireworks, then." He led them out onto his balcony that overlooked a large lawn where people were swarming out of the house. The first rocket whistled its way up through the sky and the snow falling from it, exploding in a burst of orange.

"Wow, it's really coming down, isn't it?" Katara bit her lip. "Think the roads are safe for Dad?" she looked at Sokka, who looked just as worried.

"I hope so." He answered in concern. Hakoda was heading into town that night to spend the evening celebrating with his childhood friend, Bato. The roads were very likely to freeze over. Another explosion, this time in green, burst open in the sky, illuminating the flagstone mansion.

Zuko would've said something about worrying about his father, but honestly, he wasn't worried. He did think of his Uncle, though. His Uncle was on vacation in Bermuda with his cousin, Lu Ten, who'd just graduated from Harvard that fall. They were his real family. The ones that cared about him. It probably wasn't snowing in Bermuda, though. He had nothing to worry about. Well, at least they'd be back by the time school started back, maybe he could go see them and welcome them home.

Zuko smiled as a red flash illuminated the sky, him and his friends. "So, Sokka, why aren't you with Suki right now?" he looked past Katara to the older boy on her other side.

"We're having a fight right now." Sokka answered calmly. "She'll come around by Valentine's." he snorted a laugh at his own sardonic humor.

"Right. What are you fighting about?" Zuko leaned on the stone rail.

Sokka shrugged, causing Katara to answer for him. "He left pecker tracks on her brand new satin Christmas panties." She grinned mischievously, removing her hoody and tying it around her waist.

At this Zuko sniggered and doubled over slightly, leaning further into the railing. He looked back to them, catching Sokka glaring at his sister with an evil eye. He wiped his eye from laughter and shook his head. "Man, I wish I hadn't asked."

"Yeah, me too." Sokka murmured. "Honestly, I can't see why they couldn't go in the washing machine."

Katara sniggered. "She made _him _take them to the drycleaners." She looked back to Zuko as a blue flash lit up the sky.

"Oh, no." Zuko let his head fall into his hand as he laughed. "How'd that go?"

"Shut up, Katara." Sokka scowled. "Or I'll tell Dad you were drinking."

Katara nodded and smiled innocently. She leant towards Zuko and said under her breath, imitating Sokka; _"Oh, no it's … uh … yoghurt."_ Zuko actually winced as she said this, embarrassed for Sokka.

"Oh, god." Zuko dipped his head down and gave a small laugh.

"Shut up, Katara!" Sokka was beet red now. "You have just as many embarrassing stories as any of us here, by the way." He glared at Katara.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" A blue flash of light illuminated Katara's face.

Sokka thought for a moment, before grinning and turning to Zuko. "Katara took off her shirt at Suki's birthday party."

Katara's mouth fell open. "You bastard!" she punched him in the arm. "How did you know that? You weren't even there!"

"Suki told me." Sokka looked back to the fireworks.

Zuko was smirking smugly. "Why?"

"I was very, _very_ drunk_, _okay? And it was hot. It _was_ August, by the way." She glanced hatefully at Sokka. "Besides, it was an all-girls party."

"Yeah, well, why'd you need to get on the coffee table?"

Zuko sniggered. "Nice." He smirked at Katara, who gave him a hard slap in the arm.

"Perve." She laughed at him, before a wicked thought came over her. "You have stories too, you know."

"Not as many as you two."

"Oh, you have more than the both of us combined." Sokka pulled a lopsided smirk at Zuko.

Katara glanced at Sokka. "Azula made him watch 'Twilight'." She grinned.

"Yeah, that was … horrible." Zuko shuddered. "I think I threw up."

"So did we." The two answered together. They grinned at each other.

"Countdown!" Katara suddenly yelped. "Challenge time! Whoever consumes the most alcohol before midnight gets to-,"

"No way, Katara, you're already too drunk." Sokka put a hand on her shoulder.

Zuko paused. "I'll play with you." He gestured toward the house. "On your marks."

"Get set!" Katara added, readying herself for a sprint.

Sokka sighed heavily. "Go!" he finished for them. They sprinted for the house and Sokka walked after them, where the people inside were already chanting down from sixty. When he got downstairs, the two of them were standing next to one another by the drinks' table, both of them chugging from beer bottles up-ended.

'_Thirty! Twenty nine!'_

Sokka crossed his arms and watched as they discarded the empty bottles and grabbed for new ones. Katara swiftly removed the cap against the edge of the table and got a head start while Zuko pulled off the cap freehandedly. Beer trailed down Katara's neck and chest, before soaking into her red low-necked t-shirt, while Zuko sucked down all the beer in his bottle.

'_Nine! Eight!'_

Katara and Zuko each knocked back a shot of vodka and lemonade, glaring at each other in extremely poor focus, fighting not to grin. They knocked back another couple.

'_Three! Two!'_

They each knocked back another couple.

'_One! __**Happy New Year!' **_The whole crowd chorused out as Katara fell into Zuko, laughing like a maniac. The both of them went crashing to the floor, laughing and screaming out the celebration. Katara loomed over Zuko with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"You gonna give me a New Year's Kiss?" She grinned jokingly.

Zuko laughed again, unable to move. "I was thinking about it. Your brother's right there though." He tilted his head back and saw Sokka's sneakers.

Breaking out in laughter, Katara rolled off of Zuko and grinned up at Sokka. "Come on, Sokka, it's more fun when you're drunk."

Sokka shook his head, letting an equal grin grow on his face and grabbing a champagne bottle from the drinks table. He shook it with one hand and popped off the cap, directing the explosive foam at the two drunkards on the floor. With a shout of surprise, Zuko rolled onto Katara.

"I'll protect you!" he joked, leaning over her on all fours. The liquid was however, unavoidable. Katara laughed up at him, shoving him off of her.

"Ooh! I have an idea!" she forced herself up to her feet, dragging Zuko up with her as Sokka's weapon ran out of ammo. "Come on!" she dragged him through the crowd. Not that she noticed, but a fair amount of boys gawped at her sopping shirt sticking to her, just as girls stared as Zuko's smart white shirt stuck to his abs. Sokka raced after them, trying to keep up, which wasn't hard as both narrowly avoided tripping over things. He lost sight of them however, as he tripped over someone passed out on the floor.

Katara shoved open the door into Ozai's personal gym. Zuko started laughing. "I'm not allowed in here." He leant in the doorway, alcohol sinking into his blood.

Flicking on the switch, Katara saw the pool lights light up the water and she grinned at Zuko. "Okay, well, if you want to get sticky from the Champagne…" Katara kicked off her heels, pulled out her ponytail and untied her hoody from around her waist. She took a heedless run at the pool and belly-flopped in. Zuko burst out in laughter.

"You forgot your clothes."

"Who says I forgot? We just established you're a pervert." The water came up to Katara's chest. She was in the shallow end. "Just get in already!"

Zuko kicked off his shoes next to Katara's and ran at the water with abandon. Jumping at the last second, he wrapped himself into a cannonball and splashed into the water. He came up for air, pushing his wet black hair out of his face. "This is stupid, you know." He laughed at Katara. "The two of us swimming in our clothes."

"Well, when people ask you what you were doing on New Years' Eve, you can say something cool." Katara grabbed the top of his head and shoved him under the water. Zuko grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her down with him, the both of them kicking playfully at eachother. The two came up for air, inhaling and laughing at their own stupidity. "You look like a wet dog." Katara pointed at him with a devious grin.

Zuko suddenly smirked, shaking his hair quickly, splattering water everywhere. He pushed his hair out of his face again. "I'm not going to remember any of this tomorrow." She pulled a lopsided smile. "That's how drunk I am."

"Lightweight." Katara shoved him impishly. "What is there to remember, anyway? We'll probably pass out on the stairs once everyone goes home."

"Aren't you going home?" Zuko stumbled onto his feet in the water.

"Are you kidding? I can barely stand up straight." Katara reached out for him, catching hold of his arm to steady herself. "I'd probably puke in the car."

Zuko stuck out his tongue in distaste. "Ugh." He grunted out.

"No kidding." Katara suddenly beamed at him. "Marco."

"Fuck off. I can't." Zuko shook his head drunkenly, raising a hand and entwining his fingers into his black hair.

"Marco." Katara repeated and covered her eyes with her hands.

Zuko gave her a mischievous grin, before sweeping his foot behind her ankles, causing her to fall back with a yelp. "Polo." He answered, looking down at her as she got back onto her feet. The smirk on his face split into a full-blown smile. "Oh, no, you found me." He teased. "Marco."

Katara grabbed his arm and pinched it. "Polo." She snapped with a grin. He simply beamed right back at her. "How much do you think you _will _remember then?" she crossed her arms, her clothes dripping water back into the water.

"I'll remember you and your clothes sticking to you." Zuko grinned devilishly. "And that I had the opportunity to take advantage of an extremely drunk girl on the rebound and I was so _honorable, _that I didn't."

Katara smirked. "Right. Because I _am_ easy to take advantage of." She shook her head sarcastically.

"Right." Zuko replied with a smug simper. "You really are such a … _delicate _young lady." He poked her in the ribs, causing her to yelp out.

"Yeah, it's not like I can take care of myself or anything like that. Why, if it weren't for such a _wholesome _community as this one, I'd probably be dead right now." Katara ran her fingers tauntingly up his arm.

Zuko felt the tickling sensation on his wet skin. "Oh, definitely. Probably in some gutter or something." He swallowed the dry feeling in his throat.

"Hmm." Katara answered with a long breath, smirking as she ran her fingers over his arm.

"That's starting to bother me." Zuko lied, looking to her hand on his arm.

"Sorry." Katara took her hand back and stretched her arms up to yawn. "So when is the party leaving?"

Zuko's eyes darted over her body as her wet clothes parted with her skin. "Uh … any minute now." He shook his head quickly.

"Oh?" Katara glanced at the clock. It was quarter past midnight.

"Yep." Zuko felt a grin spreading on his face. The fire sprinklers suddenly came on over the pool and he could hear shouting and screaming in the next room. Katara was staring up like it was raining, beaming up as the water poured over her.

"Why is there a fire sprinkler over the pool?" she suddenly laughed.

"I have no idea." Zuko laughed back, leading the way to the edge of the pool. The water moved against him and his clothes as he pushed through it. He grabbed hold of the edge of the pool and pushed himself up into a sitting position on it.

Katara swam after him, hoisting herself up to sit next to him. "So." She began. "Where do you want to pass out?" Katara leant her head on his shoulder.

Zuko scoffed a laugh. "You know what I want to do?"

"What?"

"I want to get another drink. How about you?" he glanced down at her.

Katara reluctantly let a grin spread on her face. "Oh … I don't know." She moaned under her breath.

"What are you? Chicken?"

With a breath, Katara leapt to her feet. "Fuck it. Come on."

Sopping wet, the both of them walked out into the main room, leaving their shoes and jackets there, to catch sight of the last few people leaving with damp clothes. Sokka sat on the stairs, glaring at them. His face dropped when he saw that they were completely soaking and clinging to eachother in drunkenness. Not only that, they were heading toward the drink table.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sokka instantly was in front of Zuko, poking him in the chest angrily.

"Me? Oh, uh … I'm really, _really _drunk, and …" Zuko broke off his train of thought to laugh in Sokka's face.  
>"My dad is going to kill me!" Sokka flung his arms up in the air.<p>

"Dad won't be back 'til tomorrow afternoon, Sokka." Katara slurred, poking Sokka in the forehead. "And Zuko says we can sleep over."

Zuko tilted his head. "When did I say that?" he garbled debauchedly.

"Well, can we?" Katara leant heavily on him. "I mean … someone's got to drink all this booze, right? 'Cause otherwise your Dad'll find out you had a party."

Sokka slapped his own face. "No way. You're already way too drunk, Katara."

"Oh … okay, Sokka. I guess we should go. But I think we'd ought to borrow a bucket or something, because I think I might be sick …" Katara frowned with a sigh.

Sokka growled angrily. "Okay, fine. We'll stay, but _only _so you don't puke in my car, got it?" Sokka's voice cracked.

"Yay!" Katara let go of Zuko and grabbed Sokka in a drunken hug. "You're the best brother ever!"

Sokka grumbled. "I need a drink." He let go of her and the three of them headed for the drinks table, Katara and Zuko at a run.

* * *

><p>Katara groaned in sickness, leaning against the toilet seat, her legs folded under her. "I'm never … going … to drink … again." She panted, before retching into the toilet again. Zuko was sitting against the tile wall, a black plastic bucket in his lap. He was holding his hair out of his face with one hand.<p>

"All actions have consequences. That doesn't mean you regret them." Zuko drawled out, gripping his bucket pathetically.

Katara lifted her head up. "It does when you're blowing chunks from the bottom of your stomach." Katara groaned in anguish, still holding her hair in her fist, behind her neck.

Zuko started laughing, but his chortle ended abruptly as he resumed puking into the bucket. He could feel his insides burning and his head thumping loudly. Sokka suddenly banged his fists on the door from Zuko's room.

"Guys, come on! I need the bathroom!"

Katara grumbled as her head spun. "There's one downstairs!" Katara shouted back. She let out an excruciating moan. "Oh, god…" she groaned out, her head dipping back into the toilet as her stomach's contents came up violently through her throat.

Zuko's stomach was churning as he lifted his head up, refusing to look into the bucket for fear of what he might see. "I'm dying." He panted pitifully. "I swear to god, I'm going to die." He glanced up at the ceiling.

Katara pulled her head from the toilet and spat into the toilet, trying to rid herself of the taste of the Chinese food they'd ordered at two in the morning the prior night. "Fuck…" she inhaled deeply and rubbed the sweat from her forehead with the back of her forearm. "We're a pair, aren't we?" she scoffed an ironic laugh.

Zuko grunted humorlessly. "Regular fucking 'Odd Couple'." He answered sarcastically.

"Idiots." Katara scratched her head to find rice falling out of it. "I have food in my hair." She shook her head with a grimace.

"Better than hair in your food." Zuko replied with a single laugh, before calculating his breathing. "You know you said last night, I'd be able to tell people something cool if they asked me what I was doing on New Years' Eve?"

"Mm-Hmm?" Katara murmured.

"I just hope they don't ask what I did on New Years' _Day_." Zuko groaned, shutting his eyes with a self-scolding racing through his head.

"You know, the only thing you _didn't _do last night was get laid." Katara said into the toilet, her own words echoing around her.

"You and I both know I could've." Zuko laughed slowly.

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you." Katara sat up straight and smirked at him.

* * *

><p>Katara plucked open her locker and withdrew her Biology books. She shut the locker and held the books at her side in her left hand. She turned around to head to class, only to see a familiar smirking face behind her. She scowled. "Go away, Jet."<p>

"Look, Katara, I just came to give you the opportunity to apologize." Jet put his hands in his pockets. "If you can get over your pride, we can put this behind us and get on with our lives."

Katara's mouth literally fell open, her eyes widening to the point where she thought they would pop out. "Me? _I _should apologize?" she screamed angrily. Heads turned in the corridor.

"Yes! You walked out on me in the middle of a conversation!" Jet replied, basking in the attention of the other students.

"I didn't _walk out _on you, you dumped me!" Katara clenched a fist on her free hand.

"We were having an argument, for god's sake!" Jet threw his hands up in a temper.

"You called me a _prude _in front of the whole school, you jackass!" she stamped her foot angrily. The whole corridor was staring at them.

Jet grumbled in a low voice, before continuing. "Well, if you could just keep an open mind-,"

At this point, Katara launched her fist across the air, right into his pretty-boy face. He stumbled back, his eyes wide and his hand clapping over his face in surprise. He finally stood up straight enough to stare at her in bewilderment and distress. The punch was an eye-opener, a bolt from the blue, judging by the way he reacted to the wake-up call. He clutched his face and glared daggers at her.

"You conceited little jerk-off." Katara brought her eyebrows down even further. "I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot bargepole." She growled under her breath. "And if you ever say so much as a word to me, ever again, I'll rearrange your face." Katara turned her back to him and stormed off for her class. Suddenly there was uproar of laughter and cheering behind her. Toph appeared at her side.

"Attagirl!" Toph slapped her friend's back.

Katara smiled at Toph. "Hey, where are you supposed to be right now?"

Toph shrugged. "English, I think. Want to cut class?"

Katara considered it for a moment. "Uh … no, I think I'm good. I'm probably going to get in trouble for punching Jet, the last thing I want is to cut class on the same day." Katara patted her friend on the shoulder. "So how are things with Aang?"

"Why don't you ask him? You're always asking me." Toph yawned, reaching into her shoulder bag for her chewing gum.

"Things are weird between us. So?"

Toph grinned. "We had sex." She bit her bottom lip.

Katara's mouth fell open. "You bitch!" she grinned back. "You were supposed to wait for me!"

"Well then, I guess you've got to catch up." Toph smirked, giggling girlishly.

"So?"

"So what?"

"_So what was it like?" _Katara strained the words.

"Umm … it was fun. It was … intimate …" Toph scratched her chin in thought. "I know there's a word for it, it's a good word too, but I can't remember it."

"Electrifying?" Katara asked.

"No …"

"Raunchy?" Katara smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Toph scoffed a laugh. "Jeez, you're so _not _a prude." She smacked her friend in the arm. "Oh! I got it!"

Katara blinked expectantly, as Toph grinned out the word.

"…_erotic._" Toph bit her own tongue as she said it.

"Ooh, that _is _a good word." Katara nodded slowly, checking her watch. "Oh, shit! Sorry, Toph, I'm late for class! See you at lunch!" Katara raced off down the hall, leaving Toph to roam around the halls before finally settling on sitting down in the hall and listening to her iPod.

* * *

><p>"Sorry!" Katara bit her lip, smiling awkwardly at her Biology teacher, Mr. Piandao.<p>

"Don't let it happen again." He waved disinterestedly, continuing with his lecture on cell structure.

Katara slid into her seat next to Suki and opened up her Biology book, taking notes. She leant aside and scribbled on a scrap piece of paper, pushing it to Suki.

'_Did you hear about Toph/Aang?'_

Suki looked quizzically at Katara, scribbling down a reply. _'What about them?'_

'_They went all the way.' _Katara looked up to her friend, who covered her mouth to hide a grin.

'_OMG. Srsly?'_

Katara nodded with a girlish grin. She pulled the paper off the desk and hid it in her pocket. The last thing she wanted was for Piandao to find a note like this. Technically, the students weren't supposed to be having sex at this age. And Toph's parents would go apeshit if they found out she'd had sex at fourteen. Then again, this was California; home of Jamie Lyn Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

An hour later, Katara and Suki were no more educated in the molecular structure of a virus than in that of a black hole, though now feeling a little more tedious than they had before. The two walked out of the class and made their way to the cafeteria, however, Suki pulled Katara toward the window to point out at the snow covering the whole campus, before they raced off to the lunch hall and snagged the last four-seat table available. They hadn't had to wait in line, thanks to packed lunches.

Katara pulled out her chicken-mayo sandwich and plopped it down on its cling-film wrapping in front of her. "So, I punched Jet." She suddenly exhaled happily.

Suki's eyes widened and she choked on her toffee popcorn. "What? When? Why are you telling me _now?" _Suki gasped.

"Well, I only did it before Biology." Katara smirked. "I used your 'bargepole' line in correlation with Toph's facial rearranging line. I love stealing lines from you guys."

"Nice one, girl." Suki patted her on the arm across the table. "So, face or body?"

"Face."

Suki grinned. "So, what did you do on New Years' Eve?"

Katara bit her lip and beamed. She was prepared for this question. "I got absolutely shit-faced, jumped in a swimming pool with my clothes on, gossiped about Sokka and the yoghurt-on-the-panties, fell on the floor and ordered Chinese food."

"At your house?"

"At Zuko's. I was way too drunk to leave, so I slept over."

Suki choked again. "On you own?"

"No, Sokka stayed too. Probably to make sure Zuko didn't take advantage of me or something like that." Katara scoffed a laugh. "So then me and Zuko spent the whole day New Years' Day puking and knocking back aspirin."

"True friend." Suki smiled softly. "You know that saying; 'A friend will bail you out of jail, but a best friend will be next to you screaming 'Whoo! That was awesome!',"

Katara laughed again. "Yeah, he is a good friend." Katara looked up across the lunchroom, over Suki's shoulder to see Jet glaring daggers at her like a child in a pout. "Jet's throwing a tantrum." She looked back down to her sandwich, before lifting it and taking a bite. Jet's jaw was bruised; purple, black and grey.

Suki looked over her shoulder. "Ooh, fuck. Nice punch." She turned to face Katara again.

"I know, right?" Katara grinned at her own food, stealing one of Suki's popcorns.

Suddenly, someone sat at Suki's left and Katara's right, and someone else sat opposite them. "Hey, guys." Toph smacked a fist onto the table. "Ooh, popcorn." She snatched up a handful of Suki's popcorn.

"So, congratulations on your maiden voyage." Suki held out a hand to Toph, who took it and shook it.

"Why, thank you, Suki." Toph tilted her head appreciatively.

"Hey, what about me?" Aang laughed, elbowing Suki.

"Congratulations, Aang." Suki shook her head with a small smile. "But it's a lot bigger for a girl than it is for a boy."

"Who says?" Aang scoffed a laugh. "I think it's pretty big. Like a rite of passage. An … assertion of my manhood, as Sokka would put it."

Toph snorted a laugh. "I think we all know who's the man in this relationship, Twinkletoes." She slurped out of Katara's orange juice carton.

"Hey, I saw what happened with that jerk on Saturday." Aang looked to Katara.

Katara looked up from her food. She swallowed and pointed past Suki. "It's okay. I got back at him." She smirked.

Aang looked and saw Jet's face, a huge purple bruise on his jaw. "Ouch." He yelped, wincing. "Nice job."

Toph suddenly quoted Katara. _"I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot barge pole, and if you ever speak to me ever again I'll rearrange your face," _Toph slapped her hand on the table, sniggering out a few momentous laughs. "Best. Line. Ever."

Katara smiled happily. "I thought that was pretty good." She clenched up her empty sandwich wrapper and tossed it across the crowd and straight into the bin. "Score!" she threw up her hands. Not long after, one of the jocks upended a nerd and inserted him into the bin.

"So, Aang, would you describe your affairs with Toph as _erotic?_" Katara cleared her throat.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Why…?"

Toph slapped Katara in the arm. "It's okay, Twinkletoes. I was trying to describe it, and she came up with _electrifying, _and _raunchy. _I, being much more mature and not being a virgin child, decided _erotic, _was much more fitting."

Aang nodded slowly in thought.

"Oh, my god, you bitch." Katara glared at her friend with a playful smile. "You don't get to call me that!"

"You're like, the only virgin among us, Sugar Queen. You need to get your cherry popped, or you will be subject to all our childish jokes from now on." Toph smirked evilly.

"I repeat, _bitch._" Katara shook her head. "Suki didn't tease _you._"

Suki held up her hands. "I would've, though." She admitted. "If she were the only virgin here, I'd tease the hell out of her."

"You guys are all deviants anyway. I have my dignity." Katara smirked, getting up and turning swiftly. She slammed right into someone and the both of them went toppling to the floor.

Suki looked down at them. "Well well well… Honor and Dignity all wrapped up into one." She smirked from her seat at the table.

Katara tilted her head to see Zuko laughing ironically. "Well, this is familiar." Zuko pushed himself into a sitting position.

"No kidding." Katara sat up too. The both of them dusted themselves off before climbing to their feet and each taking a seat around the table. Toph had moved into Katara's seat to sit next to Aang, so Katara and Zuko each took a seat near where Toph had been. "Hey, Suki, where's Sokka?" Katara asked.

Suki bit her lip gingerly. "I made him go to Home Ec. Club." She buried her face in her hands, turning red. "To learn … how to do laundry." She started laughing.

Katara, Zuko and Toph howled in laughter with Suki, leaving Aang confused. "Why is that funny? What happened?"

Toph leant to Aang's ear and whispered something, causing Aang to pull a confused face, then a disgusted one, and then finally laugh maniacally like his friends.

Eventually, Sokka turned up and they all headed to a quiet spot in the hall to sit down and hang out.

Zuko reached into his deliriously oversized rucksack and produced Katara's blue hoody. "You left this at my place. Consuela put it through the laundry." Zuko handed it to her.

"Thanks." Katara brought it to her face breathed in its smell. "Coconut?" she looked at Zuko quizzically.

"I think so." Zuko shrugged with a warm smile.

Katara put it in her bag and bit back a blush from the soft smile he offered.

"So … Katara, I guess you'd be free to date again, huh?" Toph thought aloud.

Katara rolled her eyes and glanced at Toph with a small smile. "Yeah … ?"

"And there's that hot guy in our Maths class…" Suki continued, a similar look to Toph's on her face.

Katara's eyes widened. "Eew. You mean _Haru_?" She strained her words. "You think he's hot?"

"Meh, I have a thing for guys with a tan." Suki shrugged, cuddling up to Sokka. Sokka welcomed her with open arms, having spent most of the winter vacation trying to get back on her good side.

"But he's got that weird … _thing _on his lip. That would be like making out with a caterpillar." Katara shuddered at the thought. "God knows where it's been. It's like a pipe cleaner."

Aang, Toph and Zuko each let out simultaneous laughs. "He's a skirt-chaser anyway." Aang yawned, putting an arm around Toph. "He _actually _lifted the skirt of some cheerleader this morning in Gym."

"It's for that reason that I never wear a skirt." Toph held up a finger on the end of her hand, matter-of-factly. "That, and it's stupid."

"So, Toph, do you guys want to go on a double-date this Saturday?" Sokka glanced aside, as if he'd been thinking about it the whole time he'd been silent.

"We have plans." Toph grinned shamelessly.

Aang let his own grin spread on his face, squeezing Toph in his grip.

"I'm free." Katara raised an eyebrow.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck for a second. "Um … not to be mean or anything but it was pretty even when we did triple dates with Jet, but … now, you're kinda like a fifth wheel. If me and Suki wanted to go elsewhere, we'd have to feel guilty for leaving you, you know?"

Katara pouted angrily. "You're really a great brother, Sokka. Honestly, I don't know why I'm not nicer to you. _Oh, Wait! _It's because you're a jerk!" Katara straightened her legs and pushed herself off the floor and onto her feet.

"Jeez, Katara, chill out." Suki tried to calm her down. "It's _one _weekend."

"No it isn't! You can't exclude me simply for the fact that I haven't got anyone to hang off like a drape, like you guys!" Katara crossed her arms and peered down at them. "And if that's what you're doing, you can't just expect me to have a boyfriend within the next couple of weeks!" she scoffed a laugh in astonishment.

Aang looked to Toph, who raised a hand thoughtfully. "Relax, Virgin Queen, Sparky will go out on a date with you."

Zuko's head immediately snapped to Toph. "Huh?" he stared.

"_What _did you just call me!" Katara hissed angrily.

"Queen Elizabeth I of England, also known as the Virgin Queen. _That _is what I just called you." Toph smirked, turning her attention to Zuko. "Well, will you?"

Both Katara and Zuko laughed out loud. Zuko held up his hands. "Katara and I don't…"

"We're not …"

"Attracted …"

"…not my type…"

Zuko started laughing. "What are you talking about? I'm your type."

"No you're not." Katara laughed back.

"I thought you liked Bad Boys." Zuko joked with a smirk. "I'm Bad."

Katara put her hands on her hips. "Jet wasn't bad. And neither was Aang."

Zuko smirked. "Well, don't you think it's time you had a bad boy?"

Katara started to laugh as Toph held up her hands. "See? You guys flirt all the time!" she grinned.

"Yeah, but that's because we're friends." Katara pointed out. "And by the way, Zuko, I don't have a type."

"Yeah, you do. It's the whole damsel in distress thing; Aang and you started dating after what happened with that _insanely _butch cheerleader, and you and Jet started dating after Pipsqueak knocked you over and Jet caught you." Zuko pointed out. "Not that you're _delicate, _or anything."

Katara scoffed, finally annoyed. "I don't have a type." She repeated, walking back over to the group and sitting down.

"If you say so." Zuko watched as Katara sat down next to him.

"And if I did have a type, I'd be attracted to guys who know about romance, and poetry, and wine, and culture …"

"You mean a gay guy." Toph sniggered.

Katara exhaled in exasperation. "Guys who are sensitive and don't steal the covers." Katara glared at Zuko. "These … are all things that _you know not of._" She poked him in the arm.

"I get to steal the sheets in my own bed. That's the rules." Zuko laughed. "And I can be sensitive." He held up one arm and used the other to roll up his sleeve and point to the cut scar on his wrist.

Aang, Sokka, Suki and Toph broke out into laughter. "Good one, Zuko." Sokka laughed maniacally.

"What is that?" Katara's face paled. "I didn't know you …"

Zuko's eyes widened. "Oh … uh …" he swallowed hard. "It was a long time ago." He suddenly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh … you guys tell her." He turned to his friends.

Suki patted Katara on the shoulder. "Zuko slashed his wrists when he went through depression three years ago, after he got his scar. His Uncle found him on the floor in his bath tub, bleeding."

Katara turned to look at Zuko, her face now softened. "What … oh my gosh." She brought a hand to her mouth.

"Really, it isn't a big deal." Zuko drew up his shoulders uncomfortably, tugging down the sleeve that had been rolled up on his black and red striped hoody, bringing it down over his wrists. He wished he'd explained it himself. Suki's said it like something out of a horror book.

"Why am I the only person here who didn't know?" Katara brought her eyebrows down in a hard expression.

Zuko sighed heavily. "Toph's goes to counseling, and she saw me there and asked why I needed counseling." He blinked slowly. "It spread from there. I figured everyone knew."

Katara shook her head quickly. "That's horrible." She frowned. "Gosh, Zuko … are you … are you okay now?" she tried awkwardly.

Zuko nodded. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you, Toph." Zuko ran his fingers through his hair, deep in thought. "I didn't want people constantly worrying about me like my Uncle."

"Do you blame him?" Sokka looked down solemnly. "The guy found you lying in a pool of your own blood. Don't you think he has the _right _to be a little worried about you?"

Zuko suddenly growled angrily. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he shot up to his feet and grabbed his bag off the floor, glaring daggers at Sokka.

"Zuko, calm down." Aang stood up carefully.

"I don't need to calm down!" Zuko kicked Sokka's bag into him. "I need you guys to shut up!" he seethed. He marched away, but before he was out of earshot, Suki spoke.

"I don't think we should leave him alone." She licked her dry lips. He growled, turning back toward them.

"I'm fine! Why doesn't anyone get that?" he loomed over them, ferocious, teeth bared in anger.

"Well, clearly you're not!" Toph stood up also and crossed her arms.

Zuko glanced at her. "You're one to talk! Little Miss 'Run Away'," he snapped angrily.

Toph's eyes widened in shock. It was well known that nobody ever talked about her issues at home. "You bastard!" she lunged for him. Aang stopped her, holding her by the arms.

"Shouting and fighting isn't going to do anything!" Aang yelled, struggling to hold a ferocious Toph back. Sokka got up to help restrain Toph.

Zuko was silent, his hands tucked in his pockets and his brows down. "I'm out of here." He shook his head and turned to leave.

"Zuko, wait!" Katara got up, walking after him. Zuko ignored her, leaving her standing in the middle of the corridor, staring after him. When she finally turned back to her friends, Aang was hugging Toph, who was crying now, and Sokka and Suki were both watching her.

"You shouldn't have asked." Sokka frowned.

Katara's mouth dropped open. "You were the ones who pushed him over the edge! He's right! It isn't a big deal! So why are we making such a big deal about it?" she threw her hands up in the air.

"It _is _a big deal, Katara. He tried to kill himself; that's a big deal. If he's so unstable that he can't deal with one conversation, then we don't want him hanging around us." Suki felt Sokka's arm around her. Sokka was frowning indignantly.

Katara continued to frown. "Sokka … what he went through was tough." She looked pleadingly at Sokka. "We need to apologize."

Sokka growled out angrily. "Apologize for what? He's the one that got all touchy. If he wasn't prepared to deal with the consequences, he shouldn't have slashed his wrists."

Katara was taken aback. "You _idiot! _How stupid can you be? You think he did it because he wanted to look like a badass? What, like a tattoo? What consequences would there have been if he'd died? If his Uncle hadn't found him, he wouldn't have had to _be prepared to deal with the consequences_!"

Sokka clenched his fists and pulled away from Suki. "Don't you dare turn this around, Katara." He seethed.

Toph and Aang stepped in, both looking confused. "What are you guys talking about?" Aang asked innocently. Katara grabbed her bag from the floor and violently pulled it over her shoulder.

Sokka glared at Katara. "Nothing." Sokka turned his back to her and grabbed his bag as the buzzer for class went off.

"Sokka-,"

"We're not _talking_ about **anything**." Sokka snapped at his sister, before storming away for homeroom.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's chapter one. It's dark themed, or at least, it will be, suicide and shit like that tends to be a touchy subject in schools, especially mine. I figured it would be a little awkward for it to end up just blurted out, so I did it. It is a little OOC with Zuko, since he's so happy in the first area of the chapter, but I really like the whole morning-after scene. It speaks for itself. Anyway, angry Zuko is sexy. You'll find out what Katara's talking about in the next chapter! I also liked the 'Virgin Queen' thing, since Katara is Sugar Queen, and now it's 'Virgin Queen'. Me and my mom spent the night comparing words that we thought were good, and a line came up that I really liked, thanks to the way it sounded;**

'**Ooh, that is a good word.'**

**And thus, I needed someone to say it. As you can see, it varies in its energy levels. At the start, it's very happy-happy, and then toward the end of the chapter it's very dark and twisty. I can't tell you what the next chapter will be like, but I do know it'll involve a shocking confession from Katara … oh btw, I was thinking of doing a lemon in this, see so it may change to an M later, or I might upload a twin story just M-ified. I dunno, thinking out loud.**

**Review! **

**P.s. I already know everyone else has done High School fic, but I haven't so I wanted to! If it's the same as everyone else's just say the word. I know the rules: Supply in demand. And in case I didn't say it, Toph is colorblind.**


	2. Twix

Katara slid into her seat next to Zuko. She was extremely above average in English, and thus, shared it with the grade above her. He was staring down at his workbook, avoiding her. His pen was held lazily in his hand, which lay shiftless on the desk. Katara pulled her English book out and put it out on the table, before drawing a pen out of the back pocket of her jeans and doing the hand-trick she'd learnt from Zuko, where she flipped the pen from between her thumb and forefinger to between the forefinger and middle finger, then between her middle and ring fingers and then between her ring and pinkie fingers. She gripped it back in a writing position and held it over the paper as the elderly substitute teacher walked in.

"Okay, students, books are out, pens are in hand … who's missing?" she peered at an empty chair in the back corner of the room, next to Jet, who was looking down into his lap, fiddling with his iPod. "Jet. Give me that." She held out her hand, walking through the class toward him.

Jet scowled, unplugging the headphones and handing the player to her.

"And while we're confiscating things, how about you hand over your phone too, eh? Since that's what you were planning to plug the headphones into next, am I correct?" she frowned, though sounding impressed with herself. Jet growled in a low tone and plucked the phone from his pocket, handing it over. "Thank you." She walked back to the desk at the front of the room and put both down. "You can have these back at the end of the day."

The class turned back to the front of the class and watched her draw out some chalk. The whole class groaned. There was a perfectly good whiteboard there with marker clipped to it, but the woman insisted on using the chalk on the old blackboard she had put up on a table in front of the whiteboard. She had extremely long red nails that drug across the board every time she wrote. She was well aware of this. Zuko and Katara didn't even mutter as she did this, both of them adamant not to be the first to speak.

She tapped her fingernails against the board and smirked at the class. Most of them clapped their hands to their ears as she clawed her fingernails down the blackboard and grinned at the response she got from the students. Some shuddered, some groaned, some winced.

Katara felt an involuntary shudder running up her spine as her hands tightened on her pen. Zuko stayed very still, though even she could tell he clenched his teeth and frowned in irritation. He had said about a month ago that he couldn't stand how she took liberties in the class, making it her own and appallingly mistreating the students with her chalkboard antics. He had also said he wouldn't be surprised if he one day jumped out of his seat, shoved the board off the table, grabbed her hand, put the marker in it and brought it to the white board, explaining that 'it's not that hard! Look! It's easy!' as if she were a child. This brought a ghost of a smile over her face as the class settled.

The teacher scrawled on the board 'Haikus', and turned to the class. "What is a haiku, students?"

Katara muttered under her breath. "Kiss my ass old bitch, I will never give a fuck, about this bullshit." A smug look crossed her face as she realized she'd said it out loud.

Zuko scoffed an involuntary laugh, before covering his mouth as he leant back in his seat and struggled not to smirk. A small murmur of laughter crept over the class, just over those who had heard her. The teacher frowned.

"Thank you for the example, _Katara_." She ground out, before clearing her throat and addressing the class. "A haiku, is a three-lined poem that consists of five syllables in the first, seven in the second, and five in the third. While Katara's example is indeed, _colorful, _and _witty, _I have prepared a more appropriate one." She turned back to the board and scrawled down in cursive: _'Leaves in the autumn, flutter to the pond water, barely make a splash.' _

'_Ugh. Mine was better.' _Thought Katara, doodling in the upper right corner of her book. The little eye she had doodled became a baby's face with a shit-eating grin on it. She smirked at it. It was pretty cute.

"Can anyone tell me from where Haiku originated?" the teacher clasped her hands behind her back.

"Japan." The whole class murmured in boredom.

"Very good, class." The old bat turned back to the board. "Haiku was originated in Japan…"

Zuko and Katara drowned out the woman's voice for the rest of the lesson, as she went on about the traditions of Haiku and that. Zuko had been falling asleep when the woman cleared her throat and announced the homework for the lesson. Katara suddenly looked up from her book, and he recognized she had been falling asleep too.

"Your homework is to each come up with two and a half Haiku's. Then, next lesson, you will search about the class to find an … _other half _for your half haiku. Doesn't that sound fun? So." She held her arm and pointed down the middle of the class. "You, on the left side of this line, with your half-haikus, will do the first half and students on the right side will do the end half for it. Keep them vague. I doubt more than one person here will have a haiku over … terminators." She eyed one of the students in the back row, who had turned in an essay on the terminator movie for his book report. The line she had drawn went right between Zuko and Katara, who sat in the middle row of the class.

Zuko let out a grunt of annoyance, causing Katara to snap her head to glare at him as the buzzer went off. "What? You can't deal with the chance of _maybe _having to work with me?" she growled angrily, grabbing her book and shoving it into her bag. She stabbed her pen into her pocket, accidentally stabbing herself in the process. She ignored the pain and turned back to stare at Zuko as she stood up. He was already standing and putting his book in his bag silently. The substitute had already left. She turned off the light and left them in the empty classroom.

"I don't see how it's your business what I did." Zuko expelled an exhausted breath.

"It isn't. I just asked if you were okay, alright? It was _Sokka _who-,"

"Can we please just drop it? I'm tired of everyone wondering if I'm okay, and everyone watching me like I'm going to flip out any second." He zipped up his bag and pulled it lazily onto one shoulder. "I'm sick of it. I wish you hadn't brought it up. I'd finally gotten my Uncle to stop talking about it, and now Sokka …" he grunted again. "I just-,"

"I tried to kill myself." Katara blurted out, staring him in the eye and looking flustered.

Zuko looked up from his bag and met her gaze, his eyes involuntarily widening.

"I overdosed on antidepressants and tranquilizers and painkillers- everything I could find in the house. When my mom died. I spent four days in hospital, three weeks in a mental facility and six months in counseling." She dropped her hand onto the table. "I get it, okay? Everyone asking the questions and worrying … I get it." She shook her head slowly, pulling her bag over her shoulder. "Flashing your scars wasn't exactly the best way for me to find out."

Zuko pulled a lopsided frown. "Sorry. I thought everyone knew already." Zuko gave her a playful punch in the shoulder. "Nice haiku, by the way."

Katara smiled softly. "Thanks. Come on, let's go." She led the way out of the classroom. Walking down the hall, Zuko suddenly frowned.

"Do the others know you …"

"Just Sokka. He made me promise not to tell. I'm not supposed to talk about it." Katara looked down. "It started as a joke … so it wouldn't hurt our social lives." She scoffed a humorless laugh. "But then it got serious and … he doesn't even talk about it at home. He found me. I was passed out on the stairs."

Zuko took a breath. No wonder Sokka had taken his Uncle's point of view. "Wow, we're even more fucked up than I thought." He rubbed his good eye.

Katara breathed in deeply. "No kidding." They walked out into the student parking lot. The space nearest the door was empty. "That shithead!" she stamped her foot. "He left without me!" she glanced at Zuko with a pout.

"Need a ride?" Zuko drew his keys out of his skinny-jeans pocket and approached his bike. He slid the key into the ignition and lifted the seat, shoving his bag over the helmet.

"Aren't you going to put on the _helmet_?" Katara approached him.

"I would, but I can't be bothered with the buckles. I keep pinching myself. And what is it, two miles to my house? One to yours." He twisted the handle, causing the bike to let out a powerful growl. He smirked at the satisfying sound. "So? You coming or what?"

Katara thought for a moment. "You up for a burger first?" she put her bag over his, pulling the hoody out as she did so. He clicked down the seat and swung his leg over to straddle the bike.

"Burger King?" he suggested, revving again just for good measure.

"Sure." Katara climbed on behind him and pulled the hoody on. She adjusted it and pulled her arms into the sleeves before she wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling hard muscles under her grip as the bike reversed out of its spot.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that all about?" Katara slammed the door behind her and glared at her brother.<p>

"He's unstable. I don't want him anywhere near you." Sokka answered simply as he heard the bike revving away.

"Well, you took off without me. How else was I supposed to get home?" Katara snapped, tossing her bag onto the stairs.

"You could've taken the bus." Sokka lifted her bag from the stairs. "Dad! Katara's home!" he called up the stairs.

Hakoda came jogging down the stairs. He met Katara's cold glare before speaking, standing halfway up the steps. "What's going on?" he was pulling on his jacket.

"Katara and Zuko are apparently bonding over their similarities." Sokka frowned skeptically, before making a slicing motion with one hand over the other wrist. Katara smacked his arm violently.

"Sokka thinks he can stop me from being friends with him." Katara added, looking up to her father as she snatched her bag back from her brother.

Hakoda walked down the stairs and took a heavy breath. "Kids-,"

"He's unstable, dad. He went completely insane today at lunch." Sokka crossed his arms.

Hakoda's brows went up.

"Well, all you guys did was pester him!" Katara snapped, before turning to her father. "Sokka threw this huge guilt trip on him, like it was Zuko's fault what he did!" she took an exasperated breath.

"Well it is!" Sokka waved his arms, trying to get his point across. "You think it was easy for his Uncle to find Zuko half-dead in a tub of his own blood? Or for me to find you sprawled across the stairs convulsing?"

Katara took an involuntary step back from him, paling.

"Sokka-," Hakoda tried to calm him.

"No, I'm _right_." Sokka glared at Katara. "What you did, Katara, and what he did, was selfish. He didn't think about his Uncle, just like you didn't think about us. How _we _would feel if you dropped off the face of the planet."

Katara felt tears pricking at her eyes. There was a long pause before she wiped at her eyes and sniffed. She contemplated what she was going to say. She had to say something, or Sokka would keep going. "I … I'm …" she choked on her own words. She took a shaky breath and regained her composure. "I was angry, when I woke up. I _hated _you for saving me." She glared at Sokka. "You have _no _idea what I went through when Mom died."

"I lost her too." Sokka's frown was hard and unforgiving.

Hakoda put a hand on each of his children's shoulders. "None of this is about what Katara did, or what Zuko did." He looked from one to the other. "But ..." he sighed. "I trust your judgment, Sokka. If you think Zuko is too unstable for Katara to be friends with him, then I'll back you."

Katara glared at her father, shrugging off his hand.

"Thanks, Dad." Sokka's glare was still on Katara.

Katara looked away and grabbed the banister, storming up the stairs to her room. She couldn't look at either of them. They didn't know what she'd gone through. Neither of them had had to see a man fire a bullet through Kya's forehead, and neither of them had had to hear Kya begging for the man to let her daughter go. Neither of them had had to blame themselves for Kya's death.

* * *

><p>"<em>Please! Let her go!" Kya screamed hysterically as the man aimed the gun at her.<em>

_Katara squeezed her mother's arm. "Oh my god," she repeated under her breath._

"_Damn it, Katara!" Kya shouted in panic._

_The shooter took a breath and aimed the gun at Kya. "Do as your she says." He growled out. "Run."_

_Katara backed away. "Mom-,"_

"_Leave!"_

_Katara fled. Her feet pounded on the ground and her heartbeat thundered in her head. Katara glanced back and she tripped on her own shoelace, falling to the ground. She scurried behind something, perhaps a crate, and peered over it, panting heavily. She fixated her eyes on the gun. The trigger was pulled back and the explosion filled the air. A sickening thud as Kya hit the ground echoed in her head. A scream also echoed, it wasn't until later, once the world stopped spinning that she realized she'd screamed. It was too late for anything now, the money in her mother's purse was just a memory, and the life in the mother's body the same._

* * *

><p>Katara drew in a heavy breath as she lay on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was amazing how simply finding out the Zuko was like her had spurred the resurface of the deeply suppressed, secluded areas of her mind and memory. Actually, it wasn't Zuko's confession spurring all this. It was Sokka. She sighed heavily. Surely he didn't mean all that, did he? He couldn't honestly blame Zuko for what he'd done. He couldn't blame Katara for what she'd done. It had been a hard time for her. She hadn't been herself.<p>

"Katara?" Hakoda asked from her doorway.

Katara looked up and saw him over her feet. "What do _you _want?" she asked bitterly.

Hakoda pulled a sad smile and approached, before sitting on the bed. "You know your brother and I … we worry about you."

Katara turned her head away from him. "That's exactly what set Zuko off, see? Everyone worrying all the time. It's in the past. Why can't we just leave it there?"

With a small breath, he continued. "Sweetheart … It isn't something we can just put behind us. Sokka was very deeply affected by … you can understand he doesn't want you around Zuko because he's trying to protect you, right?"

I grunted in annoyance. "I don't need to be protected from Zuko. He's not dangerous. It's like if Aang wanted to keep me away from Toph because I ran away once too." she pulled one of the pillows out from under her head and pressed it over her face before groaning into it.

"Katara, I trust your brothers instinct. It's for your own good." Hakoda gave a small breath.

"Okay dad. Jump on the bandwagon." Katara removed one hand from the pillow and held up a thumbs-up. She had no intention whatsoever of avoiding Zuko. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she hanged out more with him because of this. "See if I care." She muttered into the pillow as she sensed Hakoda getting up and leaving with a heavy breath. It couldn't be easy for him to raise his children without Kya. He was at a loose end most of the time with Katara, anyway. Sokka, at least, he understood.

Katara sat up and hurled the pillow across the room, knocking over her floor lamp. She reached for the house phone to call Zuko, but she paused, as it jumped to life with a ringing alarm. She leant over it. Ironically, it was from Zuko's house. She plucked it up quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Sokka or her dad to answer. Cradling it to her ear, she looked about, as if checking for spies in her room.

"Hello?" she asked suspiciously.

"_You won't believe my sister. Someone told her what happened earlier, and she told my father." _Zuko sounded incredulous. _"He's flying back into town just to give me hell."_

Katara groaned. "My dad's forbidden me from talking to you." she fell back to the bed and looped the phone cord around a finger on the hand that wasn't pressing the phone to her ear.

"_Ugh. Look, I don't want to get you in trouble, but I really don't want to be here when my dad gets home. I was going to ditch this place and head to the beach. It's nice down there around now." _He sounded really frustrated, and she could hear him jingling keys in a free hand. He was right; winter sunset fell over the beach around now, and then the night sky leant over the sand and sea.

Katara considered this a moment. "Any minute now, Sokka going to come in and give me the speech my dad just gave me." She thought aloud. "Alright, I'm in. Five minutes."

"_Five minutes." _Zuko answered, before there was a click on the other end and Katara heard nothing. She put the dead receiver back in its cradle and catapulted from her bed. She stalked to her closet and pulled open the doors before walking in, looking around.

It was cold at the beach, so she kicked off her sandals and pulled socks on, before sliding her feet into her cozy ankle-boots and tearing off the hoody she wore. She pulled a quilted leather jacket over her shoulders and pushed her arms through the sleeves, before zipping it up to her breasts. She was, in fact, single now and boys tended to hang around the beach. The jacket was big, so it kept her ass warm too. She tucked her hands in the pockets and pulled out the black and white striped fingerless gloves in them. She pushed her hands through the gloves and walked out into her room. She snatched up her school bag and tore it open, pulling out her wallet, keys and cell phone. She shoved them in her pockets and silently moved out onto the balcony.

She couldn't risk someone seeing her walk out the front door, so she quietly shut the balcony doors and got hold of the rail of the balcony. She looked down. It had been a long time since she'd cleared this jump. A childish thought filled her mind; imagining herself as a ninja. She bit her lip at this thought with a small smile. She kicked one leg over the rail and then the other so she was sitting on it. She scooted along it so she would come down between the two windows of the living room. She pushed her legs over and turned so she faced the balcony. She was holding on simply by her hands. She dropped one hand down to the floor of the balcony, and then the next. She slipped down a little more. She put a foot against the wall and pushed herself away from it to avoid the bush under her. Even from here, it was still a drop. She kicked at the wall with both feet, letting go of the balcony.

She thought she'd hit the grass when she landed, but the yelp that her landing had elicited was not her own. She realized she'd spent a whole five minutes changing her clothes as Zuko pushed her off of him. She'd caught him off-guard as he rounded the corner around the back of the house. She rolled onto the grass and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Thanks. You broke my fall perfectly." She smirked at him.

He laughed briefly. "Come on." Zuko pushed himself off the frozen ground and helped her up, before leading her away at a run. He pushed through a hedgerow into a back lane where his bike was parked. Without a word, the both of them climbed on and Zuko brought the bike to life, refraining from revving the engine unnecessarily in case Sokka or Hakoda heard them.

* * *

><p>Zuko sat on a boulder, leaning back on his hands and staring up at the sky. "Can I ask a question?"<p>

Katara nodded, lying on the sand, staring at the sky with her hands behind her head. "Sure."

"How did your mom die?" Zuko searched the sky for constellations.

Katara let out a brief sigh. "Mugger. We were on vacation." She shut her eyes and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Never caught the guy."

Zuko looked down from the sky to give her a once over. "I'm sorry."

"You never told me how you got your scar." Katara answered calmly, opening her eyes and looking back to the stars.

Zuko's eyes followed the stars again. "My dad … my dad used to be abusive. When he sent my mom away, he turned on me. He forced me onto the gas hob stove." He winced at his own words. "That's kind of why I didn't want to be there when he got home."

Katara sat up. "How do you still live with him? Shouldn't he get done for child abuse?" she looked to him in confusion.

"He's a lawyer. He fixed things for himself. My uncle had temporary custody while my dad was in anger management. That's when I slashed my wrists." Zuko explained solemnly. "I wish I still lived with my uncle, but after what I put him through … I'm afraid to ask."

Katara frowned hard at the sky. "Do you believe in heaven?" she asked slowly. "That people can look down on you with a smile on their face?"

Zuko sighed. "No. I believe in ghosts." He shrugged awkwardly.

Katara smiled softly. "I like that idea." She thought about it, pondering the theory. "It's idyllic."

"My Uncle gave me the idea; he said he felt my grandmother's presence when she died. I think I might have too. She was the only person I ever told about my father, besides my Uncle, and my cousin Lu Ten." Zuko slid down the boulder onto the sand next to Katara, flattening himself out beside her. "She helped me understand; my grandfather was abusive toward my father, it was just his way of trying to project."

"Do you talk to your mom?" Katara turned her head to face him.

"I tried finding her once. I guess she went back to her maiden name. I don't know what that is. I'm sure my father knows where she is, but …"

"You're afraid to ask." Katara finished for him.

"I know, it sounds like I'm a wimp." He grunted, shutting his eyes.

"Not at all." Katara's eyes danced over the unscarred side of his face. "You're one of the bravest people I know."

Zuko scoffed a humorless laugh. "Trust me, I'm not."

"If I know anything from experience, it takes a lot of courage to try to kill yourself. It took me four months to build up the guts."

"That wasn't brave. It was stupid." Zuko turned his head to look at her. "I'm here right now because I'm afraid of my father. How brave am I?" his golden eyes met her blue ones. "I can never relax at home because I'm afraid any second he'll grab my by the hair and shove me onto the stove. It's a terrible feeling, you know; to not be able to feel safe in your own home."

Katara felt tears pricking at her eyes as he said this.

"Brave." He scoffed. "I didn't tell people because I knew they'd be afraid of me. I never want people to think of me the way I think of _him._ Your brother, he's scared of me."

"I'm not scared of you." Katara croaked over the lump in her throat.

"You should be."

"But I'm not." Katara sat up and looked down at him, swallowing the lump in her throat. It was like it had never been there.

Zuko sat up and met her deep, honest gaze. "Why?" he asked carefully.

Katara squinted in thought. "I don't know." She smiled softly.

Zuko looked away for a moment. "I was going to head to my uncle's after I dropped you off home, and get home after school while my dad's at work. I feel safe at my Uncle's."

"Can I come with you?" Katara asked carefully. "I'd rather not see Sokka tonight."

"They're going to worry." Zuko looked back to her.

"They're going to worry no matter what I do." Katara wrapped her hand around his arm. "Please?" she sounded desperate.

Zuko put both arms around her and hugged her tight. "Of course." He whispered. She wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed back. Katara let out an involuntary sob into his shoulder, and Zuko felt a lump in his own throat, his eyes brimming with tears, his face buried in her hair. He tried biting it back, but eventually, the both of them were sobbing into eachother, brows down and gripping each other desperately.

* * *

><p>Zuko knocked loudly on the door, feeling sheepish, but knowing the alternative was going home. Katara squeezed his hand supportively as the door opened. Before Zuko could say anything, his uncle had tugged him down into a cheerful hug.<p>

"Hello, nephew! What a wonderful surprise!" he let go of the boy, smiling happily. He looked to Katara, confusion settling in. "And miss Katara. This is indeed a surprise."

"Uncle, can we come in? I'll explain." He asked with a relieved smile.

"Of course! Come in, come in! It's chilly out!" he stepped out of the way for them to come in. Katara let go of Zuko's hand as he made his way to the kitchen of the beach house. Katara and Iroh followed him. A smile spread on Iroh's face as he saw Zuko filling the kettle and putting it back in its cradle, clicking it on. "I take it you're in the mood for something calming." He opened a cupboard and revealed his impressive collection of herbal teas. "I recommend chamomile and honey."

"That would be nice, Uncle." Zuko sat down at the kitchen table as his uncle set out three mugs, taking the chamomile and honey box down, and some Ginseng for himself.

"Now, to what do I owe this visit?" Iroh looked over his shoulder, pouring the boiled water into the cups.

Zuko drew in a breath. "Azula told my father that I'd told people about the suicide attempt. He's flying back home just to be a bitch, and I didn't want to be there when he got here."

Iroh nodded in understanding. "Your father's temper is still undisciplined and turbulent." He stirred the drinks. He was still confused as to Katara's role in all this. "And miss Katara…?"

Katara gulped as he set the cups down. She looked up to see Zuko giving her a look that asked if it was okay for him to explain. She gave a curt nod and he cleared his throat and cradled the cup in his hand.

"Katara attempted suicide when her mother died. I didn't know who else to call when I left for the beach, so I called her." Zuko met his uncle's gaze. "Things are complicated at home for her. The both of us, we were wondering if … if we could spend the night here."

Iroh nodded immediately. "Of course!" he lifted his cup and took a sip. "Though I will have to call your fathers and inform them that you are safe."

"No!" the both of them cried at once. They exchanged glances.

"My father doesn't care if I'm safe." Zuko regained his composure and stared at his uncle.

Katara shifted uncomfortably. "My dad will want to take me home." She looked to Iroh desperately.

Iroh stroked his beard in thought. "If you say so." He took another sip. "Well, I suppose I will go and set up the living room for you." He nodded and stood. There was a recliner and a sofa in the living room where they could sleep. Suffice it to say, Iroh didn't have a spare bedroom. Well, he had Lu Ten's room, but just because Lu Ten stayed with his girlfriend sometimes didn't mean people could sleep in his room.

Zuko looked aside to Katara. "You okay?" he asked carefully.

She nodded and let a thankful smile roam onto her face. "Yeah." She answered simply, despite wanting to say more. "Just tired is all."

"Yeah, me too." Zuko lifted a hand and rubbed half his face tiredly. As if on cue, Katara's phone began ringing in her pocket.

"Oh, no." she whispered under her breath, pulling the phone out. "Sokka."

Zuko held out his hand for the phone. Katara shook her head, moving to put it back in her pocket, but he snatched it and pressed 'answer'.

"Hello." Zuko said clearly. "I'll have two Big Mac meals with a chocolate shake and strawberry shake-,"

"_I figured as much. Where's my sister?" _Sokka snarled.

"With me."

"_I already knew that. I meant __**where.**_"

"You and I both know I'm not going to tell you that. I don't see what your big deal is with me." Zuko looked to Katara, who was watching him with a black expression on her face.

"_I don't have time for this. Put my sister on."_

"Yeah, sure. Right after hell freezes over." Zuko answered calmly. "Honestly, Sokka, just last week we were all drinking beer together. I don't see how what I did is relevant-,"

"_No, you wouldn't. Just like you didn't see how relevant your death would be to your uncle, and Katara didn't see how relevant her death would be to me or my dad."_

Zuko frowned. He bit back the urge to tell Sokka to fuck himself. "Goodnight, Sokka." He shook his head, taking the phone from his ear and hanging up on Sokka. He looked to Katara. "He's really, _really _pissed." He pulled one side of his mouth into an awkward frown, handing her back the phone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: chapter two - done! Just thinking out loud here, I want Zhao to be in this somehow. Reviews are love! And here's my saying of the week!**

_**Be like a panda: black, white and Asian. Yet somehow not Mexican … hmm … be a panda with a taco! **_


	3. Mars

Zuko shut his uncle's front door behind him and turned to follow Katara to the bike parked a few yards away. Katara turned, walking backwards as she talked. "Did you write your haiku piece?"

"Nope." Zuko replied, giving a yawn to the early morning sun. "I don't even have my school bag."

"Me either." Katara looked around carelessly. "Oh well. Fuck 'em."

Zuko smirked. "My sentiments exactly." He stopped in his tracks. "Oh, fuck."

Katara squinted in confusion. "Fuck what?" she followed his eyes and turned around. She could see a black sedan parked between the house and Zuko's bike, a man standing outside it, with huge sideburns and dark sunglasses, despite the minimal rays of the morning sun, dressed in a black suit and red tie. "Who's that?"

"My father's driver, Zhao." He swallowed hard as the man began walking toward them.

"Good morning, Zuko." Zhao smirked, removing his sunglasses self-importantly (_CSI: Miami _reference).

"Morning, Zhao." Zuko grumbled dryly.

"And who is this delightful creature?" he glanced to Katara.

Katara's face twisted into disgust. "Katara Marina." She answered for herself.

"I don't need a ride to school. I'm not twelve anymore." Zuko suddenly snapped. "I've got the bike."

"Oh, I'm not here to take you to school. That lovely housemaid has prepared a wonderful packed lunch for you, Zuko, it would be nice of you to come and thank her yourself." Zhao gave a devious smirk. The boy had pissed Ozai off once more; it had been a while since Zhao had had the pleasure of seeing the boy get beaten.

Zuko glanced away. "I'll say thanks when I get home. I have to get to school."

"Nonsense, your friend here can take this note for you." Zhao reached into his suit jacket and produced a parental note. He outstretched it to Katara.

"Like hell I will." Katara turned her head from Zhao and crossed her arms.

"Oh, but young Master Zuko here hasn't seen his father since before his trip to Denver. I'm sure you'll be wanting to welcome him home, right boy?" Zhao glanced back to the scarred boy before him.

Zuko grunted under his breath. He knew he wasn't getting out of this. If his life were an action film, this would be the part where Zhao grabbed him by the neck and shoved him in the car before peeling away like a maniac, with no regard for the fact that police wouldn't suspect a car that _wasn't _screeching all over the road like that. Real life wasn't that physical; your obligations were spoken in words, not actions.

As if he'd read young Zuko's mind, Zhao continued. "Get in the car, boy." He tugged open one of the back doors of the car.

Zuko looked over his shoulder to Katara. "You'll have to walk." He spoke coldly. He hadn't meant to snap, but that's how it had come out as he tensed up. Katara stared after him helplessly as he climbed into the back seat of the sedan. "Sorry." He added.

"Don't apologize." Katara held up a hand. "See you later." She snatched the note from Zhao's hand and glared at him briefly before looking back to Zuko.

"Yeah." Zuko replied absentmindedly. Katara understood; he was thinking of what would happen once he got home. Zhao slammed the car door between the two teenagers and climbed into the driver's seat, shutting his own door. As much as she didn't want to go to school now, Katara forced herself to walk.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Katara's day went terrible. Her mind was fixed elsewhere, wondering about Zuko's safety, and it really wasn't a surprise how many teachers asked her to pay attention. By lunchtime, Katara had been given after-school detention, of which she had no intention of attending. She was sat down in the cafeteria, her cell phone in her hand, as she hopelessly tried to get reception.<p>

"Hey, Katara." Came a friendly voice.

Katara looked up to see the familiar face of Toph, sitting down beside her. "Hey."

"I heard you ran away last night. What's up?"

"Oh, all this shit with Sokka and Zuko." Katara frowned, tapping the screen of her cell. "I was trying to call Zuko, but there's no reception."

"Why isn't he here?" Toph asked with a yawn.

Katara lifted a hand and rubbed one eye. "It's complicated. Where's Aang?"

"Right here." Aang called from afar, walking toward them. "Be warned, Sokka's coming." He spoke quickly, sitting down beside Toph. Katara leant to one side and peered around the tree.

"No kidding." She swallowed hard. Sokka was storming toward them, Suki struggling to keep up. He walked past the table and stopped ten feet from them, crossing his arms.

"Where were you?" he shouted loudly.

"I slept in a dumpster." Katara answered coolly. "I made friends with Oscar the grouch."

"I'm serious, Katara!" Sokka flailed his arms above his head, his voice cracking as he yelled.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Sokka. I'm here, I'm fine and I'll go home after school. That's all that matters."

"You were with that psycho." Sokka seethed angrily.

Katara's face fell and she stood up. "He's not a psycho." She hissed darkly.

"Whatever." Sokka shook his head. "Dad's so pissed at you."

"I _said, _**he's not a psycho.**" Katara repeated. "That's your cue to _take it back._"

Sokka scoffed. "I'm not taking it back, that's exactly what he is."

"Take it back!" Katara shouted viciously.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. Give me your cell."

Katara's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Dad said you're grounded. Give me your phone." Sokka held out his hand.

Katara smacked the phone into his hand. "Happy now?" she snapped sharply. "Dickhead." She muttered, sitting back down.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're in trouble." Sokka tucked the phone into his pocket. As if on cue, his pocket began to vibrate and bleat out the solid guitar riff Katara had chosen as a ringtone for Zuko's calls.

Katara looked up to her brother, mixed emotions on her face. "Sokka."

"No." Sokka crossed his arms as the guitar riff repeated itself. "I'm not going to answer it, and neither are you."

Katara grunted angrily. "You idiot." If he'd known why she was worried, or even that she _was _worried, he might have let her answer, but she couldn't tell him. It was Zuko's place to decide whether to tell anyone. "Fine then. I'll use the payphone. Pass it, I need the number." Katara stood up and outstretched her hand to him.

"No." he replied as the phone stopped its alarm.

In a heartbeat, Katara grabbed Aang's bag practically off his back and smashed it into Sokka's side. "Asshole!" she seethed, returning the bag to Aang.

"Guys, come on, calm down." Aang tried helplessly, producing his smashed up packed lunch with a saddened look on his face. He tucked the sandwiches back into the bag. "There's no point arguing if nothing's being sorted."

"Yeah, Katara. Dad said you're not allowed to hang with Zuko, and that's that." Sokka nodded triumphantly.

"**Ugh!**" Katara yelled. "You and Zuko used to be best friends, you know!"

"Yeah, well …"

"Yeah well nothing! You already knew anyway!" Katara snapped.

Toph tilted her head. "She has a point, Snoozles. We did all know already. You never thought he was dangerous before."

"But I knew she didn't know. And he's not dangerous in general. But like, in those alcohol rehabilitation groups, one of the rules is that members can't date other members because it makes them more likely to hook up to get shit-faced." Sokka tried to explain.

Katara squinted in confusion. "Huh?"

"Zuko and Katara aren't dating, though." Suki frowned thoughtfully.

"I know that!" Sokka lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We're hardly going to run into a convenience store, pick up a box of pills and some razors and have a party, though, are we?" Katara rolled her eyes.

Sokka sighed. "Dad said if you go home, stay off the phone and the computer, and _don't _sneak out tonight, you could come with me and Suki to see 'The Bad Lieutenant' tomorrow night."

Katara grumbled under her breath. "I'll think about it." She looked away. "By the way, you have to drive me home, I don't have bus money."

"Sure." Sokka nodded.

"Hey, I was going to see that." Aang spoke up. "Have you guys already got tickets?"

"Seriously?" Toph scoffed, looking to Aang. "I was going to invite you to see the new Paranormal Activity movie with me."

"Oh, well in that case." Aang gave an awkward nod.

Katara sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to class."

* * *

><p>After finally escaping her final lesson of the day, Katara headed for the main entrance of the school. She could see her locker approaching on the right and decided she'd might as well put her books back. As she was about to shut the locker, she heard someone clearing their throat. Damn. She looked up.<p>

"Miss Marina, late even to detention? This is a disappointment." It was that stupid old haiku substitute lady who'd given her detention.

Damn it, she was just going to have to tell the teacher to fuck off. After all, this woman hadn't seen the things Katara had. She hadn't seen someone's brains get blown out of their head, or seen the inside of a mental hospital. "Yeah, some other time." Katara slammed the locker shut. "I have stuff to do."

"As does every other student in the classroom." The old woman snapped. "That way, Miss Marina." She pointed down the hall to the classroom at the end of it.

Katara grunted loudly. "Yeah well my stuff is important."

"I'm sure. Shame."

Katara walked toward the class with the substitute not far behind her. She turned the corner and stalked away from the classroom. _Yep,__ it's a crying shame. For you._

"You get back here!" the woman shouted after her.

Katara simply stuck her middle finger up over her shoulder. She did, in fact, have important stuff to do. She turned the corner, further zipping up the large leather jacket she was wearing and running to catch up with Sokka. She finally got to the parking lot as Sokka was getting into the car.

"Hey, what kept you?" Sokka asked, powering up the engine as Katara climbed in.

"I was supposed to have detention today. I ran into the teacher that gave it to me." Katara grimaced.

"Oh. That stupid English substitute lady, right?" Sokka scoffed dryly, pulling the car out of its spot. "She keeps nagging me to do this stupid Shakespeare project that's totally depressing and completely melodramatic."

"Romeo And Juliet." Katara groaned tediously. "Outdated. And kind of pointless. They die. The end."

"Exactly." Sokka smiled to himself. "I mean why aren't we being taught useful stuff? Modern stuff, like Stephen King."

Katara nodded in thought. "Have you finished 'Wizard and Glass' yet? I've finished with 'The Drawing Of The Three'."

"Not quite. What did you think of Detta Walker?" he smirked, remembering his amusement with the character's intense _'Honky Mahfah' _dialogue.

Katara only offered a small scoff of a laugh. She looked to Sokka with a small frown forming on her face. "Sokka. Zuko …"

Sokka sighed. "I know something's up with him. I don't know what it is, but I know it only helps him having a friend right now. I just wish it didn't have to be you."

His sister pulled her mouth to one side thoughtfully. "Don't you trust me? You should trust me not to … do that again."

"I know. And I did. But sneaking out, staying out all night … we were worried, Katara. We did drive you out of the house, and he presented you with an offer you couldn't refuse, a chance to get away. But the next time you want to get away, and you have nowhere to go, the painkillers in the bathroom are going to be that offer you can't refuse. You need to learn to take your lumps up front. You're never going to learn that with Zuko. Just like Toph, he runs away from his problems."

Katara shook her head slowly. There was a long period of silence between them and when the car pulled into the driveway, Hakoda was standing on the front porch with his arms crossed. '_Oh, shit.' _Katara thought to herself. _'I'm so fucked.'_

* * *

><p>Zuko was scowling hard in the mirror, trying to brush out the now loosened hairs coming out of the black mop that grew from his scalp. His father had grabbed him by the hair, close to the head too, and dragged him around a little bit, tugged him to his private study and thrown him to the rug, lecturing him on his suicide attempt was not something to be paraded about, it was shame on him and, more importantly, his family. His father.<p>

Zuko had sat on the floor, braced on his hands behind him, wide eyed and trembling as his father yelled. The last few words had echoed in his head.

"_Now get out of my sight!"_

He'd run to his bedroom. He'd punched his fist a hole in one of the paint canvases he kept simply for that functionality. By now they were dusty, after all, Zuko hadn't been beaten for a while. He grabbed the keys on the dresser and turned furiously, heading for the door. Sure, he was pissed with his dad, but more with himself. He was big enough now to hold his own, strong enough to beat the shit out of his dad if he wanted. But he couldn't; as soon as his father began bossing him around, getting physical, he froze and couldn't do anything. He was the same thirteen-year-old boy his father had thrust on the steady blue flames of a gas hob.

Zuko grabbed his thick black leather jacket from the coat hook at the bottom of the stairs and it caught on one of the silly decorations on the wall, a blue and white painted wooden mask his Uncle had bought as a gift for his sister-in-law in Japan five or six years back. It came off the nail on the wall and began to freefall toward the floor, its tie-ribbons coming unfolded from inside it. Zuko grabbed for it, but it tumbled around on his fingers, and he had to drop the jacket to the floor to catch it with both hands. He looked about cautiously for his father, or his sister. His eyes fell back down to the mask as he turned it in his hands. On the inside, there was an inscription in Japanese, but Zuko couldn't make it out. His uncle could probably tell him what it said.

He liked the mask; it was oddly serene and it seemed like an object that had a history.

Something clicked in Zuko in that moment. He found himself racing with the mask in his hand upstairs and toward the entrance to the attic. His uncle had told him about the secret room in the attic that lead to all his childhood items and things from the earlier years of his adulthood. His uncle had also told him about the practices of kendo he'd learnt in Japan, and the traditional garb he'd brought back in his youth. It was just pure curiosity, he told himself, making him shoot up the ladder to force open the attic panel. After all, Zuko had taken three years of kendo and Wado-Ryu martial arts in the dojo on the south side of town. And that attic was sure to have some _sweet _swords and blades up there.

Zuko caught sight of the locked door in the attic. Nobody was going to hear him; Ozai was in the study, talking to one of his clients on the phone, and Consuela was on her lunch break, probably at the nursery with her son, as well as all the other servants, cooks and maids. Zuko took a run at the door and lined his shoulder up with it, shutting his eyes for impact. To his surprise, it was nothing like the action movie he was playing in his head, it was like a crappy reality-challenge show. Toph would have said two words.

_EPIC FAIL._

He bounced off the door, not without hurting himself, and fell straight onto his back, his head threatening to fall down the gap where the ladder was. He picked himself up and took a breath, rubbing his shoulder. "Ow." He hissed under his breath, picking up the mask that had fallen from his hand. He frowned, glaring back at the door and hoping he'd become Superman and shoot laser rays into the lock. "Fuck." He looked about for a lock-pick of some kind, pointlessly, because he knew this door was locked to keep even James Bond out.

The only thing opening the door today was sheer force. He stepped toward the door and took a calculated breath, before lifting one leg and smashing his foot flat into a spot near the doorknob. Nothing. Zuko grunted in annoyance. He pressed his free hand on the knob, trying it hopelessly. He knew he'd have felt really stupid though, if it had opened as soon as he turned the knob. Zuko gave it one more shove and it finally burst off its hinges. _'That's one __**solid**__ lock.' _He thought to himself as he stepped into the dusty room, looking around curiously.

He reached up and grabbed hold of one of the roof beams, carefully testing the floor below him to see if it would hold his weight; according to rumor, the house had been in his family for two centuries. That would be one _old _house. Finally confident in the floors strength, Zuko stood firmly on it and looked about a little more. His gaze fell on the gold-crested trunk at one end of the room. He stepped gingerly toward it and knelt before it.

'_Please don't be locked. Please, please don't be locked…' _Zuko tried lifting the hood on it. Much to his surprise, it came open without a hitch. He pushed it up and stared breathlessly at the contents of the trunk; two dual swords, sides of one weapon, crossed over one another atop the black garb his uncle had told him about. The swords were silver-bladed steel, with their hilts wrapped in black leather stripping. A matching sheath was clipped in the top half of the trunk, made for the swords. He couldn't believe it; Dao swords, the same type as the ones Zuko had chosen in kendo, only better quality, sharper and untouched in years. He was sure he could cut himself just thinking about the blade.

He heard something downstairs. Maybe the door clicking; it was probably Consuela. The adolescent plucked up the swords and put them together, removing the sheath simultaneously and sliding the swords into it. He put it on his back and grabbed up the black garbs, then ran to the ladder and pulled it up into the attic, and shut the ceiling pane. As he did so, a pair of black combat boots fell out of the clothes in his arms. He looked out the skylight and saw that black had taken over the sky.

It was someone else entirely telling him to pull the black clothes on over his casual daywear. He pulled off his sneakers and pushed his feet into the combat boots, before tightening the buckles and pulling up the hood of his _ninja _wear, if you want to call it that. He grabbed up the mask and hurriedly and firmly tied it on. He caught his own reflection through the mask's eyeholes, in an aged mirror that had once belonged to his grandmother, Ilah. He grinned inside the mask and grabbed up the sheath, pulling it on. He pushed open a skylight and pulled himself onto the terracotta roof tiles.

Freedom raced through his veins.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: FIRST, a random sentence: I went to download 'How To Save A Life' by The Fray, accidentally downloaded 'You Found Me' instead, and I actually like it better!**

**Okay, so do you like it? I wanted Zhao to be a little bit of a smug bastard, as usual, so there he is. I got the idea of Ozai grabbing Zuko by the hair, after my little brother (Nefyn, Aged 10), who used to have long enough hair to braid, cut it short again, just long enough to grab, and a week later my older brother (John, Aged 16) grabbed hold of it and tugged him around. I tell you the whole story, because the fact that it was recently cut brought my attention to the action. And then **_**my **_**cat, Tango (yes he's ginger) puked on John's bed. Karma's a bitch, huh?**

**I need more Azula! Anyway, now I think I'll go make a crappy lumpy cake with leftover ingredients and then get started on the next chapter! Review before I get back and your suggestions will be taken onboard during the next chapter!**

**It's right here. Click it.**


	4. KitKat

The next morning at breakfast, Katara was still worried. She hadn't heard from Zuko, she hadn't been able to check her Facebook; she was lucky to be able to watch TV. She was watching half-heartedly, her fork prodding at her pancakes hesitantly. Hakoda, a founder of Chander, Bei Fong & Marina, a law firm that rivaled Scorsese, Sisko & Tamesis due to the fact that as the largest firms in town, they were quite often pitted against one another in court, was watching the local news. Hakoda suddenly choked on his cereal and reached for the remote to turn it up. Katara and Sokka started paying attention merely at this gesture.

'_Locals report to seeing the mysterious masked man 'jumping across the rooftops', and a sharp addition to the newspapers runs a tabloid of the area having its very own superhero vigilante. Twenty-four year old Leanne Morris reports she was rescued from a rape attempt by the man, ma'am, what exactly did you see?'_

'_I was walking home when this man attacked me, and from the rooftops, this __**ninja **__looking guy just leapt down from a roof and knocked the man off his feet with one kick! Then this morning I was dragged down to the police office to-'_

'_Did you see his face, or hear his voice?'_

'_No, he was wearing this wooden mask, it was like Chinese or something, it had two huge fangs sticking out, it was blue and white, and he didn't say anything at all. He had a sword sheath on his back though.'_

'_Do you have any comments or thoughts on this news bulletin?'_

'_Yeah! It's like we have our own personal Spiderman or something!'_

Hakoda shook his head and smirked slightly. "Spiderman." He muttered under his breath, a chuckle escaping his lips.

'_Four citizens' arrests were made last night. The surprising element of it is that the arrestees were restrained with synthetic rope and left in front of the local police department. Since, two witnesses have come forward to testify against two of the arrestees. Detective Thomas Mills speaks on the matter. Detective Mills, let's hear your take on this.'_

'_Thank you, see, this so-called 'hero' has made these arrests in an outrageous manner, and it's being publicized, so even if these prisoners are dead guilty, their lawyers are going to play the 'dismissive evidence' cards. One of the prisoners has agreed to a deal with the victim, but just because the guy made __**one **__arrest, and got __**one **__conviction, that doesn't mean he's a hero. He's a reckless vigilante, and he's also a criminal. That's the kind of thing us regular cops get 'police brutality' lawsuits for doing.'_

Hakoda turned off the television. "Go on, now. School." He shooed his children. "I've got to get to the office."

"Oh my god! Did you see that Sokka?" Katara squeaked as she got up. "That is _so _cool!"

"It is, kind of." Sokka smirked slightly. "I mean like, Spiderman is made up, but this is actually real."

"It's so cool!" Katara turned to her father. "Daddy, please can I check the internet? He probably has a superhero name!"

Hakoda smiled softly. "Here." He handed her cell phone back. "Don't make me regret this."

"I won't, Daddy, I promise!" Katara hugged him tight. "Best dad ever!" she turned to see Sokka heading for the car. "Hey, wait up, Sokka!"

During the car trip, Katara found a web page with a drawing of the superhero. 'Epic Win' was written in capitols over it, and a row of four hogtied prisoners was in the background. Katara put her phone back in her bag. Zuko would think it was awesome.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, did you see the news this morning?" Suki ran up to Katara and hugged her tightly in the hallway.<p>

Katara simply squealed in her friend's arms. "So awesome!" Katara sputtered out while choking in Suki's grip.

"It's worth hanging around in alleys hoping to be attacked now." Suki joked, letting go of Katara and walking with her toward biology.

Katara laughed lightheartedly. "Oh, hey, is Zuko here?"

"Yep, he's glowing; I think he got laid last night."

"Oh no." Katara frowned hard.

"Huh?"

"That means he got back with Mai." She pulled a face. "I don't know, I think she brings him down into that whole Goth thing she does. If Zuko's dangerous for me to be around, than surely she's worse for him."

"No kidding." Suki nodded, as they crowded through the door into the classroom and took their seats. After class, they made their way to the cafeteria table they always sat at. They stopped a few yards away; able to see Zuko standing with his bag in one hand and Sokka at the table saying something that was making Zuko a little pissed. The two girls ran toward them.

"What's going on?" Katara asked sharply.

"Apparently I'm not allowed to sit with you guys anymore." Zuko explained dryly.

"Sokka." Katara began calmly. "Don't be a bastard about this now."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "Okay, fine, but if we get into trouble with dad, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough. Sit down, Zuko." Katara sat down and put her bag on the floor. "So who else saw the Blue Spirit news?"

"SPIDERMAN!" Toph and Aang chorused together.

"It's an internet sensation on its first day." Suki thought aloud.

Zuko looked puzzled. "The what news?"

The others all chimed in at once trying to explain. In ten seconds, Zuko was informed of everything. He laughed slightly as Katara leant forward, her chin on one hand, thinking dreamily.

"I bet he's muscley." Katara mused.

Zuko scoffed a laugh. "Yeah. He might be." He agreed humorously.

"And tall."

"Probably." Zuko answered. "Hang on." he paused, his mind knotted. "Wait, are you fantasizing about the Blue Spirit?"

Katara sat up straight, now defensive. "I can fantasize about superheroes. Sokka went a whole summer obsessed with Wonderwoman." She glared at Zuko. "And _you_ liked Jean Grey from X-Men."

"Hey! Katara!" Sokka snapped at Katara.

Zuko laughed again, but this time a little nervously. "I'm just saying, it's a little bit like those Justin Bieber fans." He tried; he couldn't have his best friend having a crush on his alter ego.

"No it's not!" Katara yelped over-sensitively. After a while, she added. "I- is it?"

Toph laughed out loud. "Oh, this is too good." She snorted. "Katara wants a man in tights. So much for your bad-boy theory, Sparky."

"Ha. Guess that explains Jet." Aang smirked. "Tights." The gang erupted in laughter. Jet tried constantly to get onto the wrestling team but never made it on account of the fact that Coach Nelson had called him out as a 'pussy' on his first trial.

"No, no, I want to hear it. How is it like the Beliebers?" Katara pointed to a table full of girls in pink t-shirts gawping over pictures of the singer, all of which occasionally grouped together and began singing _'Baby, Baby, Baby, OH,'. _

Zuko shrugged in thought. "Never mind."

"So, Zuko; are you back with Mai?" Suki asked brightly.

"Huh? Why would you think that?"

"Well, 'cause you were glowing this morning, I just thought you got laid or something." Suki shrugged. "So are you?"

"No, I'm not." Zuko answered calmly. "I guess I was just glad to get away from my dad."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Aang asked curiously.

"It's complicated." Zuko frowned, awkwardly reaching up and scratching his head. When he put his hand back on the table, he saw a small bunch of black hairs between his fingers. Katara also caught sight of this, but the others seemed not to notice.

* * *

><p>Katara was finally sat in detention that day after school, sitting back with her arms crossed and her eyes focused on Mrs. Alderman, the detention attendant. If looks could kill, the attendant would be dead. Her eyes occasionally moved to the clock above Alderman's head. She had been in the room for fifteen minutes. Jet Tybalt was sat a few rows in front of her, on the left, Chan Nakoma was on the right sight of the room, and Mai Tamesis was sat right behind Katara, tapping her foot as if having withdrawal symptoms. As much as Katara tried not to like Mai for being Zuko's ex, she had to admit she kind of did.<p>

The door opened, breaking the silence as Ms. Yugoda, Katara's after-school yoga club teacher walked in with Zuko right behind her, scowling with a dark look on his face. Yugoda smiled briefly at Alderman. "I caught this young man smoking on school property. I wonder if he could join your detention session?"

"Not a problem." Alderman pointed to a seat a back corner of the room. "Sit." She instructed him.

Zuko trudged to the seat and sunk down into it, leaning back and crossing his arms the same way Katara was. Katara knew Zuko smoked, but he rarely did it on school property unless there were exams coming up and he was stressed. He must have been waiting on Mai, or Katara or something. Yugoda left the room, and silence took over again. Another half hour passed before Alderman got up to photocopy what she'd been working on. Katara turned to look at Zuko.

"You never smoke on school property." She stated curiously.

"Yeah, so what if I lit up before heading home?" Zuko answered irritably.

Mai gave a scoff. "I bet _they _smoke on the grounds."

"Probably." Zuko grumbled.

"Which ones you on now?" Mai asked in boredom.

"Benson & Hedges." Zuko replied. "You?"

"Same. But I'm out." Mai shrugged. "I was chain-smoking on New Years, I ran out last night."

Zuko glanced cautiously to the door before reaching into his pocket, fiddling about and producing two cigarettes. "Here." He reached out and outstretched them to her.

She took them and put them in her own pocket. "You're a saint." She continued tapping her foot.

"So what did you guys do to get in here?" Zuko glanced between Mai and Katara.

"I skipped detention yesterday." Katara looked to Mai, who gave a casual shrug.

"They found a knife in my locker." She answered calmly.

Zuko was silent for a moment before asking; "Why did you have a knife in your locker?"

Mai gave a short, amused laugh. "I wasn't going to hurt myself. That would be stupid. I was going to hurt someone _else_."

Katara and Zuko stifled sniggers before they silenced themselves as Alderman walked back in, examining the papers in her hands as she sat down at the front desk, none the wiser. Katara thought for a while. What if Zuko and Mai _did_ get back together? They were good together, sort of. They did get in fights, but everyone did that. She'd be a little upset that he would spend more time with Mai than her, but it wasn't like Katara would be jealous. Zuko had always spent a lot of time with Mai when they were together.

Katara had even been forgotten once, completely. There had been a huge fight then, between Mai and Zuko, and when Zuko came to think it out with Katara, she'd turned him away. They got too enveloped in eachother, they forgot about everyone else. The sex must've been _amazing_, Katara thought to herself, if they were so obsessed. '_Bros before hoes,' _was the saying, but it didn't work with a guy and his female friend.

Katara had never forgotten about her friends when she'd been with Jet. Thinking back, Jet had really been Katara's only boyfriend, and she couldn't say he was a bad kisser, but there was no spark, no real sexual attraction. At least not on Katara's part. Katara turned around to look at Jet. He wasn't even bad-looking, in fact, he was quite a looker. He was a catch, for some. Katara looked forwards again; perhaps what Jet needed was someone who could play him the same way he played other girls; someone who wouldn't take any bullshit. Katara even knew exactly the girl for the task, too.

Jin Territa was one of Zuko's exes, probably the most popular girl in school. She didn't see herself as popular though, she was sweet, but she took no bullshit. She didn't let people into her head either. She and Zuko had broken up because she knew he was still in love with Mai. Katara remembered that she'd admired Jin for that; she'd known how much Jin had liked Zuko.

The next time Zuko and Mai had broken up, Zuko had dated Song McFarlane, a farmer's daughter with a taste for horse riding. Katara had met Song at riding lessons when she was ten, and again in freshman year. In freshman year, they had gone twice trail riding. That time, Zuko had broken up with Song because he believed she deserved better. They had met through Katara.

Lost in her thoughts, Katara hadn't even noticed the detention attendant motioning them to get up. Mai poked her in the shoulder blade with a sharp, long, black-painted fingernail. "Earth to Marina." Mai laughed once.

Katara got up and smiled briefly. "Thanks, my head was elsewhere."

"Mine too. I was thinking about getting a drink." She glanced to Zuko and back to Katara. "You guys want to join me?"

"Sorry, I can't. I've got plans for tonight." Zuko smirked honestly. He actually did have plans; major plans that involved kicking ass, cleaning the streets and possibly helping old ladies across the street.

"Grounded." Katara shrugged in annoyance. "How about Ty Lee?"

Mai nodded slowly. "Guess so. See you." She raised a hand as a wave and walked out on her way to the black sedan her father had handed down to her.

Zuko and Katara headed out of the classroom and down the hall, before emerging in the school parking lot. Sokka was waiting in the car, and Katara could hear Eminem pumping from the stereo. She climbed in, waved to Zuko and buckled up. Sokka's car stalled, twice and sputtered a few times before starting. Sokka made some comment about seeing a mechanic later in the day, but Katara was too busy hoping to see the Blue Spirit online when she got home.

"Crap." Sokka hissed as the car stalled out again in the road. A car beeped from behind and the boy stuck a middle finger up as he powered up the engine, moving forward again and dialing Suki. "Hello?"

'_Hello? Sokka?'_

"Hey, I don't think we can do the movie tonight. Can we do it tomorrow? There's something up with my car."

'_Aww. Okay. Call me when you get home, 'kay?'_

"You know it." Sokka smiled mischievously before hanging up.

* * *

><p>"Ty Lee, open up!" Mai smacked her flat hand on the door of the front door of the Chander's large split-level home. She knew nobody was home; both Ty Lee's radically Catholic parents worked to pay back the money they'd borrowed to feed the seven daughters they had, three of her sisters were in college, one lived in Pretoria, South Africa with her boyfriend, and the two just older than Ty Lee went to private school in Washington. Ty Lee was neither parent's favorite child, or considered by any of her family to be talented or absurdly pretty as all their daughters were stunners. "Ty Lee, don't make me knock this fucking house down!" she yelled in exasperation.<p>

At once the door opened and a weepy-looking Ty Lee threw her arms around Mai and hugged her tight. Mai was caught unawares as Ty Lee sobbed into her shoulder. The tissue in Ty Lee's hand was wet from tears and crumpled up tightly in her hand. Mai could tell Ty Lee was trembling by her friend's free hand against her back in hysteric desperation.

"What happened?" Mai hugged back as tight as her reputation would allow her to. "Was it that stupid Haru boy? 'Cause I'll fuckin' kill him-,"

Ty Lee shook her head into Mai's shoulder and lifted her face from it to speak. "No. It was me. I did it."

"Did what?" Mai looked around cautiously.

"It's my fault. I screwed up so bad, Mai." She sniffled. "I'm so stupid. Just like mom says."

"Don't listen to that bitch, Ty Lee." Mai put her hand on Ty Lee's arm and stepped back from her before leading her back into the house. She instructed Ty Lee to sit down, and they did, on the couch. A half-used up box of tissues was on the coffee table and a bunch of used tissues were in the short garbage can near the couch. "What's going on?" Mai asked, somewhat demandingly.

Ty Lee leant forward on the couch and dropped her head into her hands, wiping at the tears on her face. "I screwed up so bad, Mai." She repeated, before looking up at Mai. "I asked Azula to pick it up for me. She's so good for doing it."

"What the hell is going on, Ty Lee? Are you shooting heroin or something?" Mai shook her head.

Ty Lee shook her head and pointed to the garbage can. "It's in there. Well, the pack is, anyway. I couldn't risk my parents finding it."

Mai grabbed the garbage can and plucked out the blue box-looking thing. She froze. The daunting word 'Clearblue' was written in insipidly cheerful lettering. "Ty Lee …" she stopped.

"I'm pregnant." Ty lee breathed, shutting her eyes and letting one more tear fall to the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm so sorry for the long wait, my internet was down and we thought the broadband company shut us off for late payment, so we only just realized it was off two days ago. I've written chapters and chapters and chapters of this now, I really like where it's going. That doesn't mean you guys don't have to wait, though. When I feel I've milked all the love out of this chapter, I'll upload the next one. Just to encourage your reviews, I'm goan' slip in an excerpt from the next chapter! Don't you love me?**

* * *

><p>Mai addressed his buddies. "Make tracks or lose your fingers." She pulled a Swiss army knife out of her coat and flicked up her weapon of choice.<p>

They became wide eyed before fleeing at the speed of light. Mai's face was like a statue, emotionless and objective, as she looked down at Haru, who glared up at her. "If this is about Ty Lee-,"

"Shut up." Mai's eyes narrowed. "You know what this blade is for?" she bent over a little to get her point across. "It's for cutting off your nuts."

Haru swallowed hard, his throat dry. "W-w-what?" he stammered.

"You quite obviously don't want any kids." Mai added calmly.

"N-no! I want kids! I love kids! K-kids are great!" he held his hands up innocently.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's your lot until next time. You know, I think I like this 'preview' idea. I may continue doing this. Reviews will bring you the next chapter!<strong>


	5. Snickers

The next morning, Katara ran downstairs and smacked the power button the TV. The news channel was already on and she turned up the volume. They were talking about the Blue Spirit again! She sat down on the coffee table in the living room, her infanthood teddy bear clutched tight in one hand, dressed in blue and navy pinstripe pajama trousers and a black long sleeved thermal shirt.

'_Now nationally known as the Blue Spirit, our local vigilante has become an Internet sensation overnight, which makes it no surprise that more than five thousand people have claimed to be the hero. The vigilante's signature of hogtying his arrestees has been widely criticized by local police officers, complaining that the man has broken police regulations in his captures, and quote 'if he wants to be a cop, he should join the academy, not parade about like some kind of Superman'. Three more arrests were made through the night, and while two of the detainees were in possession of dealing amounts of illegal narcotics, the bigger news is that one was found with evidence related to an open homicide case that Detective Thomas Mills is working. Here's the scoop. Detective Mills, am I witness to a change of heart?'_

'_Indeed you are, Ms. Howell, I've been working this homicide for two weeks, we had no leads, no suspects, barely any evidence, it looked like the guy had gotten away, and The Blue Spirit brings me a guy with panties- with __**DNA**__ of the victim, in his __**pocket**__! This guy is sure to get convicted, if the Blue Spirit is out there; I owe you one.'_

'_Amazing. On another note, a local tabloid editor has posted a $500 reward for pictures of the nocturnal Blue Spirit, who has an online fan-base of over seven hundred thousand members in one day. We'll have more as the stories develop. Stay tuned.'_

Katara squealed in excitement, before getting up to go get changed. The news lady, Dorothy Howell gasped, clutching her earpiece. Katara turned quickly.

'_This just in, we're showing live footage…' _the camera shifted to a shot from a helicopter over an enormous hay field, flames carved into its crop. _'…Of a local field, flaming with a signature! Oh, oh my goodness!' _the flames were quite clear. **'BS' **clear as day. _'This is amazing! This is an audio feed from our research leader; Jack, what do you know?'_

'_Well, Dorothy, the field you are seeing the flames in right now was taken over by squatters last month, leaving a well-known local farm owned by a Scott McFarlane with only half its original acreage. The squatters took legal ownership via squatting laws and lawsuit, and … and there you have it, you know. The squatters now claim McFarlane set the fire, but it's quite clearly … '__**BS'**__.' _The research man joked in amusement.

Katara squawked with laughter as she ran up the stairs. Two minutes later she was in the kitchen, chewing crunchy toast and checking her phone for web news on the Blue Spirit. Sokka walked in, talking on his cell phone.

"The _what!_?" he squawked. "Huh? No, no, how much is that going to cost to fix?"

Katara and Hakoda could hear a muffled voice talking on the other end as they ate.

"Three hundred and forty … dollars. Alright. Okay, thanks. I'll pick it up Saturday morning." Sokka hung up and sat down, his head down. "Dad-,"

"Absolutely not." Hakoda cut him off. "You have a job, pay for it yourself."

"I can't get that kind of money together in _three days_!" Sokka yelped in terror. "Please Dad! Please please please!"

"Nope. You're not going to bring me around, either." Hakoda stood up from the table and cleared up the dishes, putting them in the sink to clean up when he got home from work. "I'll see you when I get home. Oh, and Katara, here's an advance on your allowance for the bus fare." He pulled his wallet from his pocket and gave her seventy-five dollars.

"What about me?" Sokka asked sharply.

"Like I said, Sokka. You have a job." Hakoda passed his son and patted him on the shoulder. He disappeared out of the house and Katara let a mischievous grin onto her face.

"I know how you can get the money."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'll buy that camera you got for Christmas from Gran Gran for three hundred and fifty dollars, ten dollars extra so you can get on the bus."

"What? It cost her **seven** hundred!"

"Oh, well, I don't have that kind of money, Sokka." Katara stood up. "But, if you're not interested …"

"No, I'm interested. It's yours! When do I get my money?" Sokka got up also, his eyes dancing over her face hopefully.

"Tomorrow. At 6pm." Katara smirked. "But I want my camera straight after school. Here's that ten-dollar advance for the bus fare." She handed him a ten note, before walking toward the front door.

* * *

><p>Mai was walking down the hall with her hands in the pockets of her thick black winter duster the next morning; it was a Thursday, January 5th. She was between her second and third lesson, where the students of Dahlia Coast High were allowed fifteen minutes break time. Fifteen minutes was all it would take. People often called her the 'Black Dahlia' because she lived a gothic lifestyle and she went to Dahlia Coast, and now she would exercise the darkness for which she was nicknamed.<p>

That morning before anyone was due to get to homeroom, Ty Lee had told Haru she was pregnant, and he had walked away, laughing. Mai was going to get the point across.

She saw Haru through the double doors into B Corridor, putting books in his locker. She knew he would head her way toward the cafeteria, so she hide beside the door and waited for her moment. She heard his voice approaching as he walked with his friends and stuck her foot in the path. Haru went tumbling over the black sneaker and Mai stepped toward him, to stare down at him with an expressionless face.

"Hey, watch it, you stupid bitch!" Haru shouted at her from the floor as one of his friends held out an arm to help him up.

Mai addressed his buddies. "Make tracks or lose your fingers." She pulled a Swiss army knife out of her coat and flicked up her weapon of choice.

They became wide eyed before fleeing at the speed of light. Mai's face was like a statue, emotionless and objective, as she looked down at Haru, who glared up at her. "If this is about Ty Lee-,"

"Shut up." Mai's eyes narrowed. "You know what this blade is for?" she bent over a little to get her point across. "It's for cutting off your nuts."

Haru swallowed hard, his throat dry. "W-w-what?" he stammered.

"You quite obviously don't want any kids." Mai added calmly.

"N-no! I want kids! I love kids! K-kids are great!" he held his hands up innocently.

"Good. Because Ty Lee has a choice to make, and as much as I'd love to just slash your throat, as the father you also have a say in it." Mai's voice was barely above a whisper. "You're going to think long and hard, and if you ever make my friend cry again, when I cut them off, I'm going to make you eat them. Understood?"

Haru nodded so hard his neck must've hurt. He was pale as a ghost, shaking and on the verge of pissing himself. Mai clicked the knife shut and put it back in her pocket. She thought for a moment, staring blankly down at him.

"And if you tell anyone, I'll cut out your tongue as well." She adjusted her coat and stepped over him, toward her next class.

* * *

><p>Katara slid into her seat next to Zuko on the park bench at the edge of the grounds on lunchtime. "I bought a seven hundred dollar camera." She zipped up her leather jacket a little bit higher.<p>

Zuko scoffed a laugh, before taking a drag from his cigarette. "Really?" he looked to her. "When? Where'd you get the money?"

"I bought it from Sokka for three hundred and fifty dollars. He needs the money to fix his car. I'm gonna get the money tomorrow."

"How?"

"I'm going to get a picture of the Blue Spirit." Katara grinned at him, reaching into her bag. "They said a tabloid editor offered five hundred dollars for a photograph on the news."

Zuko nearly choked on his smoke. "What?" he turned to stare. He calmed himself, shook his head. "Good luck." He scoffed another laugh, taking another drag. He had no intention of getting photographed.

"Oh, well thanks for the support. It's over-fucking-whelming." Katara snapped sarcastically.

Zuko shook his head again and met her eyes. "Okay. What are you going to do with your hundred and fifty?"

"I don't know." Katara shrugged. "I could give it to someone who needs it. I mean, if the Blue Spirit can help people, I don't see why I can't… I don't know, I guess maybe I'm using Sokka's car problem as an excuse. I really … wanted to see the Blue Spirit."

Zuko glanced at her briefly. She looked kind of disappointed, and a little bit ashamed too. He realized what he was considering. '_No. Absolutely not; I can't risk getting caught. She's not getting a picture and that's that.' _Zuko shook off the consideration and took another puff of smoke. It was already bad that Katara was obsessed with his other half. "I'm heading to the cinema tonight. I'm going to see the new Paranormal Activity movie." He changed the subject. Of course, he often said he would do things and his plans changed.

Katara nodded in thought. "Sokka and Suki are taking me to see 'The Bad Lieutenant'." She replied absentmindedly, her feet crunching in the snow under her. She heard more footsteps in the snow and looked up; Aang, Toph and the aforementioned two were walking toward them. Toph ran and sat down next to Katara, and then Aang sat next to Toph.

"So, what are we talking about?" Toph asked casually. "Out here in the blistering cold." she pointed out bluntly, hugging herself just a little bit.

"Movies." Zuko responded to her question, before breathing in the smoke from his cigarette.

"Oh cool." Sokka sat down in the snow, Suki sinking down between his legs and snuggling up to keep warm. "We're going to see 'Bad Lieutenant' tonight."

"Katara said. Hey, you two." Zuko leant forward to address Toph and Aang. "What was Paranormal Activity like?"

Toph grinned and grabbed onto Katara. _'Ohmigodohmigodohmigod, Toph, I can't believe he went in. He went in, Toph, ohmigod, fuck, fuck, AAAAAGGGHHHH!' _she glanced to Aang in a teasing tone.

"Hey!" Aang laughed. He thought of a comeback. "Well, that's what you said last night."

Sokka and Zuko suddenly shouted. _**"OAHHH!"**_

"Oh, Toph, you got _owned_ for the first time ever." Sokka spoke to Toph, who was grinning in defeat.

"You got me, Twinkletoes. You got me. I've taught you well." She reached up and patted Aang's head. "You have learnt well, young Padawan." She smiled, before grabbing his chin and kissing his cheek.

"Aww." Suki smiled. "You guys are such a cute couple."

Toph and Aang turned red and smiled back. Aang raised an arm and Toph snuggled under it, a look of bliss on each face. Both Katara and Zuko were just a little bit jealous.

* * *

><p>"Katara." She heard her name spoken as she shut her locker. She turned and saw Jet walking up the hall toward her, looking very serious.<p>

"Jet." She said simply. She didn't know what emotion she'd expressed, but he continued as if she hadn't said anything.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but … you're a nice girl, and before I go barking up a different tree, I want to know if there's a chance in hell you'd take me back." Jet lowered his head humbly.

Katara gave a small smile. "There isn't. But it's nice that you came to say that."

"What did I do wrong?"

"You thought sex was something you were entitled to. It wasn't, and even if I had slept with you, it would've been out of obligation. I don't know, but I think it's something you give to someone if you love them." Katara thought aloud, shrugging up to adjust how the leather jacket hung on her shoulders.

"You didn't love me. Did you ever even think you could?" Jet asked carefully. He hadn't known love for a long time; his parents were junkies who ignored him, his life was mostly with his friends, and he knew that wasn't love. He wondered if anyone was capable of loving him. He just wanted to be noticed. To be seen. Perhaps that was why he often came across as an asshole.

Katara thought about this. After what had happened with her mother, she didn't know if she could risk losing another person she loved. Simply from being in High School, rejection was already a concern. Even if she managed to find a person that could handle the confusion in her, she doubted they'd be able to come to terms with the fucked up memories she dwelled on night and day. Love didn't seem to be on the cards for her. "I don't know if I'm even capable of loving _anyone. _And sleeping with someone I don't love … I just don't have it together enough to play with fire like that."

Jet nodded, considering. "Yeah. I don't think I loved you either." He answered honestly. He hadn't, not really. He'd just been doing what he'd always done; found a hot girl, waited it out and tried to screw her. He didn't know if he knew what love was, but he knew he liked the feeling of someone holding on to him.

Katara smiled briefly. "So who's the girl?"

Jet smiled again, meeting Katara's gaze. "Jin Territa. I don't really know her or anything, but she's the first girl that's been able to hold her own with me. I think that's admirable." His brown eyes seemed to twinkle with a strange happiness he hadn't felt before. Not lust or desire. Affection.

"Yeah. It is. See you 'round, Jet." Katara turned and waved over her shoulder. "Hope you and Jin work out." She meant it; he was a catch lead astray and just like anyone he deserved happiness.

"See ya." Jet replied, heading in the opposite direction. And it suddenly felt like a loose-ended chapter of her life had finally been concluded, so another could began. "Hope you find what you're looking for." Jet didn't know what she was looking for, but it seemed like the right thing to say. It was. It was exactly the right thing to say.

* * *

><p>The Blue Spirit leapt from the rooftop and landed on his feet on the concrete ground. His hand forced the mugger's face into the brick wall and he pulled the mugger's arm behind his back, threatening to break it. He stabbed his finger at the pocket of the mugger and pushed on its arm, inflicting some more pain. The mugger reached into his pocket and pulled out the wallet of the man he'd robbed. The Blue Spirit snatched it and let go of the man; he wouldn't mug anyone for a while, not while he feared the Blue Spirit would come and get him.<p>

Most of his work dealt with muggers, rape attempts and robbers fleeing. Most of them, he let go, and carefully left stolen money outside range of security cameras; he didn't want media attention at all. However, the first night, he hadn't known very much and just been doing whatever felt right. The second night, he'd seen two of them exchanging drugs, and one he'd seen ducking under the yellow tape in front of a motel room. Only this morning on the news had he realized the man was a murderer. He liked to think he was doing good deeds; a detective had even thanked him on the news!

"Oh my god! The stories are true! Thank you!" the victim shouted. "Thank you!" he yelled again as the Blue Spirit tossed him his wallet. In his excitement, the man missed the wallet completely, bent to pick it up, and when he looked again, the hero was gone.

The Blue Spirit dashed across the roofs again, and stopped on top of a convenience store, looking down at the street. _'I can not fucking believe this.' _He saw Katara, his friend, Katara, walking out of the movie theatre, pretending to be on her cell. She tucked it into her pocket and reached into her handbag, pulling out an expensive digital camera, switching it on and looking about. This was the rougher part of town, where he worked for the most part. He ducked below the low wall atop the convenience store and watched quietly over it through his mask.

He was reminded of how he'd earlier wanted to see Paranormal Activity, but he supposed it would be running on Friday too. Oh, wait. Now he had a nighttime routine. Well, he was sure he could catch an early running tomorrow, ride back home, change and roof-dart back. He wondered why he hadn't taken up free running; it would surely help him in his new trade.

He could see Katara turning a corner into an alley, probably looking for a rescue in progress. He flung his legs over the wall, leapt across the street, jumped and grabbed hold of the marquee of the theatre, pulling himself up and sweeping up onto the roof. He ran to the side of it and peered over to see Katara looking about, seemingly hopelessly.

"…so stupid. You could've just listened to Zuko, but _**noooo **__… _had to be a big shot." She was talking to herself. He stifled a laugh - she heard. She gasped, looking about, scared. Instead of hoping to see the Blue Spirit, she was hoping not to see someone who'd shoot her in the head the same way her mother had been killed. "Oh, fuck. Fuck." She swallowed. The Blue Spirit could hear her terror on her voice. "Oh, fuck, you're going to die. I'm going to fucking die. Holy fuckin'-," something moved in the darkness and she froze, looking about. "Couldn't watch the movie, had to go and-," she swallowed, cutting herself off. She could see something that the Blue Spirit couldn't.

"That's a nice camera you got there. Looks expensive." A man with a handgun stepped out of the shadows.

'_Oh, fuck.' _The Blue Spirit thought to himself. _'She's going to get killed.' _He hadn't come across gunmen yet. He recalled her talking about how her mother had been killed; in an alley, shot in the head by a mugger.

"Why don't you hand that over, little lady? Before we get down to some fun-," he shouted in surprise when what looked like a shadow dropped down from the sky. "Whoa!" the gunman raised his gun and fired a shot in the dark. Katara screamed, still frozen to the spot, but now her camera had fallen to the ground as her hands shook, protecting her face by reflex. "This is a private party, Spirit boy!" he shouted in panic.

There was a slice and a flash of metal as The Blue Spirit swept the man off his feet. Another shot was fired, and pain seared through the Blue Spirit's shoulder. The shot scared Katara so much that her legs failed her and she sank to the floor, staring up as the Blue Spirit held one sword at his side and another to the man's throat. He signaled to the gunman to get up and run, without words, simply by moving his sword. The gunman got up and ran, a huge urine stain between his legs.

The Blue Spirit put the dual swords together and into the sheath on his back. He nodded to Katara and she swore she saw him look at the blood soaking on his shoulder before grabbing with his uninjured arm at something on a wall and shooting up into the sky. Katara grabbed her camera and ran after him on the ground. She got out into the street and snapped the picture, him surging from one roof to the next, facing away from her, but it was still unquestionably him, as told by the zoom feature she'd used, and his skillful roof-leaping, he'd been caught on film in mid-air.

* * *

><p>There was a loud banging on the door, desperate and haggard. Iroh shook his head and made his way to it, before opening it and staring. What the news was calling 'the Blue Spirit' was stood on his doorstep. The man clung one hand to his other shoulder, leaning heavily in the doorway. Iroh could see blood on the man's black garbs, oddly familiar as they were. He took another look at the mask and recognized it immediately. <em>But surely there must be more than one of that mask…<em>

Iroh opened the door wide, invited the man in and pulled a chair out. The Blue Spirit shut the door and sank into the chair, before taking his hand his hand from his wound and reaching to the back of his head, pulling the few ribbons and letting the mask fall into his lap. He pushed back the hood of the garb and his black hair fell into his face. He was taking steady breaths through gritted teeth. Iroh paused, but soon called into the house for his son, who was conveniently a medical student.

"What happened?" Iroh asked his nephew tentatively.

"Fuck." Zuko grunted. "This mugger … fucking shot me." He answered through clenched teeth.

Again, Iroh called for Lu Ten. The young man ran down the stairs into the dining room; his father never yelled, and he sounded worried. "Zuko, what-," he paused when he saw the mask in his lap. "You idiot." He grunted. "Dad, get the kit on top of the fridge."

Iroh nodded and disappeared into the kitchen as Lu Ten pulled a chair to his cousin. "Fuck, it hurts." Zuko seethed in agony.

"You're the one jumping across rooftops pretending to be Spiderman, then." Lu Ten let out a humorless laugh. "Why?"

Zuko shook his head. "Can we talk about this when there _isn't _a bullet in me?" he shut his eyes tightly, letting out another guttural grunt of pain.

"Fine." Lu Ten answered as his father returned with the medical kit. He flipped it open and eyes his supplies. "I'm going to have to do this without anesthetic." He plucked up a bottle of antiseptic and a cotton ball. He expertly pressed the cotton on the opened mouth of the bottle and tipped it upside down. He handed the bottle and cotton to his father and helped Zuko remove the top of his black attire and the layered shirt underneath it.

Lu Ten dabbed the antiseptic on the clean entry wound. Zuko hissed and bared his teeth, but stayed stone still otherwise. Lu Ten brought a pair of surgical pincers to the entry wound. Zuko's eyes were almost glued shut as his cousin pulled out the bullet out of his body. He opened his eyes to look at the bullet. How could it be that he could take one of those and not be able to take his father?

"You gonna faint?" Lu Ten asked, admiring the cartridge.

Zuko shook his head. "No."

"Okay then." Lu Ten put the bullet and tweezers inside the box of medical supplies, and took out some stitching equipment. "Maybe you _are _cut out for this crazy Spidey-stuff after all."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Our hero needs allies! What did you guys think of Lu Ten? I like the Spiderman references too. They're fun. Okidokey, so now you gots to do _your _bit. You know the drill; 3 or more reviews and the next chapter is-a-comin'. Here's your preview for the next chapter! Little bit raunchy, but we're all adults here. Hell, if we can figure out a keyboard, we can handle 'T', right? Go Sukka! :) Reviews please! P.s. Isn't 'swathe' a great word?**

* * *

><p>"Aww, you're stressed." Suki approached and put her hands on either side of his neck, just where it met his muscular shoulders.<p>

Sokka nodded with a sigh. She got on her tiptoes and put her lips to his ear, so that when she spoke, she tickled him and sent shivers down his spine.

"I know how to fix that." Suki whispered her temptation, before taking both sides of his jaw in her hands and kissing him hungrily. Sokka answered her kiss just as hungrily and let her suck him into the girls' bathroom, as Sokka lifted her off her feet, her legs swathing around his hips and her hands linking behind his back. Ten minutes was all they had, but they made it count.


	6. Fudge, Pt 1

Katara finally dragged herself away from the television to come and eat breakfast. She forked in a mouthful of bacon and eggs, watching as Sokka walked in. Sokka sat opposite her and spoke. "So this money … where is it coming from?" he reminded her of airport security with the tone of his voice.

Katara shrugged. "I can't say. Be happy with the cash and shut up, okay?" she smirked, self-impressed. She couldn't believe she'd gotten the picture, and Sokka usually jinxed things just by talking about them.

Sokka gave a small grumble. "Fine." He shoved a forkful of breakfast into his mouth. Honestly? Why couldn't she tell him how she planned to get the money? Was it against the law? Was she that Blue Spirit's evil arch nemesis? He smiled inwardly. That would be awesome.

"Morning." Hakoda walked in and slapped on the kettle. "How was the movie last night?" he asked, setting up the fixings for a cup of Joe.

"It was good." Sokka yawned. He'd been up late into the night reading a book that he'd finally finished around three AM. "Suki picked us up and dropped us off."

"Ah, I was wondering how you got there." Hakoda rubbed his eyes tiredly, and ran his hand over his shaven chin, checking for any missed spots. "And Katara, how was the news?" he smiled fondly.

Katara let an embarrassed smile onto her face. "Uh … it was good, thanks." She tried helplessly.

"You running down to watch the news every morning reminds me of when you two would run down the stairs every Saturday to watch cartoons, when you were younger." Hakoda thought aloud. "And you were always surprised when your mother got there before you." His face fell slightly.

Katara pulled a face. "I remember that."

"Yeah, me too." Sokka smiled briefly.

There was a long silence, neither awkward nor comfortable. Hakoda shook his head, shaking himself out of his trance and poured himself a coffee, glancing at the clock. "Go on, now. You'd best skedaddle." After his children left, Hakoda strolled into the living room with his coffee in his hand, eyeing the framed photograph on the mantelpiece. "Happy Birthday, Kya." He brushed his fingers on the frame. He sank down to the couch and put the coffee down. His head fell into his hands, and he wept for his love.

* * *

><p>Break time, Friday the 6th of January, Sokka couldn't find his sister anywhere. He decided to look for her; maybe she was in a mood and hiding from everyone; it was, after all, their mother's birthday. He found himself searching all over; the cafeteria, the library, her homeroom, English club, choir club, Spanish club, lunchtime detention, bench at the edge of the grounds and about seven stairwells. Sokka knocked on Mr. Dorian's Maths class door and waited; he knew Katara's schedule better than he did his own, because a man had to protect his baby sister, and that meant knowing where she was.<p>

Mr. Dorian came out and looked him up and down. "Sokka Marina." Dorian smiled briefly. Sokka's father was Dorian's lawyer, who'd saved him from four months community service for something. "What can I do for you?"

"Was my sister in your lesson just now?" Sokka asked anxiously.

Dorian thought a moment. "No, I don't believe she was. I thought she was absent from school."

"She _shouldn't_ be." Sokka looked away. "I can't find her anywhere. If you see her tell her I'm looking for her."

"Will do."

Sokka walked away. Where could she be? What could she be doing? _Who could be with her? _Sokka rubbed his eyes stressfully. As much as everyone else made fun of Katara for being a virgin, Sokka was in no hurry for her to grow up, and certainly in no hurry for her to be sleeping with anyone. Anyone she slept with would get a knuckle sandwich, whether or not she willed it. Even if she _was _having sex right now; your first time was generally just a quickie. And anyway, Katara was single right now.

"Well, _hello there._" He heard a seductive voice from his left. He looked up to see Suki leaning against the wall between the boys' bathroom and the girls' one. She gestured to the girls' room, "My pad," and then to the boys' room door. "Or yours?"

Sokka grunted in thought. "I can't find my sister. She wasn't in her last lesson, I asked her teacher. She came on the bus with me this morning."

"Aww, you're stressed." Suki approached and put her hands on either side of his neck, just where it met his muscular shoulders.

Sokka nodded with a sigh. She got on her tiptoes and put her lips to his ear, so that when she spoke, she tickled him and sent shivers down his spine.

"I know how to fix that." Suki whispered her temptation, before taking both sides of his jaw in her hands and kissing him hungrily. Sokka answered her kiss just as hungrily and let her suck him into the girls' bathroom, as Sokka lifted her off her feet, her legs swathing around his waist and her hands linking behind his back. Ten minutes was all they had, but they made it count.

* * *

><p>Nobody saw Katara until lunch hour. Toph had even been worried by the time she turned up at their lunch table with a shit-eating grin on her face. "Where have you been?" Sokka yelped in relief.<p>

"It's not important. Everyone follow me." She instructed them simply and turned for F corridor. They followed her into the hall and up into stairwell G. Nobody ever went there; a boy had been found dead there two years ago, stabbed in the neck with a school scissors. There had never been a conviction; for all anyone knew, the killer could've still been on campus.

"Why are we here?" Suki took hold of Sokka's arm and let her eyes wander to the cobweb-covered ceiling of the stairwell. Sokka was pale. He could see pink blood stains on the floor that nobody had been able to get out.

"Yeah, Katara; I'm getting creeped out." Aang grabbed Toph's hand, and Toph gripped it back just as tight. She wasn't scared of many things, but she had no intention of getting stabbed in the neck with a scissors.

"You guys are a bunch of pussies." Zuko scoffed a laugh.

Katara reached into her bag and produced a money clip. "Sokka; your three-hundred and forty dollars." She extended it to him.

Sokka took it, eyes wide. _"That's _where you've been? Out robbing banks?"

Katara laughed out loud. "No. I didn't break any laws, if it helps. And this is my cut." She raised a smaller clip of money. "Not even enough to buy an iPhone."

Zuko stared at her. She'd gotten a picture? Fuck; that could mean his father might even recognize the mask on the news. No; no, she'd had to have gotten it as he fled. He shook his head and rubbed at his good eye. "She took a picture of the Blue Spirit." he stated dryly.

Sokka gasped. "You weren't on your cell phone!" his jaw dropped.

"You make it sound like making child pornography, Zuko." Katara smirked at him.

"It was dangerous. You could've gotten killed. Fuck knows how many pieces of shit lurk in that part of town. You could've gotten your head shot off." Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. "Probably nearly did."

Katara glared at him, her face fallen. "Shut up." She tucked her money back into her bag.

"Why did you think I told you not to take the picture?" Zuko asked her slowly. He hadn't wanted her to get hurt; it had only been luck that he'd saved her last night.

"Because you're just another worrywart, like everyone else!" Katara shoved him hard in both shoulders. How dare he criticize her? So maybe he was right, that didn't mean … it didn't mean it was his place to … "Ugh!" she grunted in confusion, taking off down the steps.

Zuko felt pain shooting through his left shoulder and he ground his teeth, trying to ignore it. When he opened his eyes, Katara was storming away past him. His eyes watered, but he objectively touched two fingers inside his jacket on the wound, over his black t-shirt. He took it away and looked at his fingers. There was no blood. He had narrowly avoided splitting his stitches. He clutched it in discomfort.

Aang stared. "It can't hurt that bad, it was just a shove."

Zuko shook his head and thought up a feasible lie. "I went over the handlebars of my bike last night - she got me right on the bruise." He grunted in pain. "What the fuck is her problem?" he suddenly hissed, standing straight and shoving his hands back into his pockets. He felt another surge of pain with his movement, but this one he could shrug off. "What? We're not allowed to worry about her without being the biggest prick in the universe?"

Sokka patted Zuko on the back. "Now you see what I was trying to get across on Monday."

Zuko gave a small, humorless laugh. "Fuck, I'm going after her." He stormed off after her. The others ran after him; this was going to become a fight. They had to stop that from happening. Zuko finally saw her in A corridor. He broke into a jog and turned the corner for B corridor, stopping and looking around. The others joined him, looking around. They spotted Katara opening her locker and approached her. "None of us want to see a wall get painted with your brains, okay?" he tried helplessly.

Toph made a noise that indicated he was going about it the wrong way. "What Sparky means to say, Katara, is that we need you. You're that warm, sticky pastey stuff that glues us together. We'd be fucked if you were to go 'poof'."

Katara gave a short sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry I shoved you. I guess you sort of struck a nerve. I nearly got mugged last night." She glanced to Zuko. "I went looking for trouble and it found me. It was only luck that the Blue Spirit was there at the right place at the right time." She took a breath and shuddered just at the memory.

Nobody said anything. The awkward silence was cut off by something being slammed into a nearby locker. They spun around and saw Haru, with Ty Lee forced to a locker by her throat, choking out for help. Before anyone else could do anything, Mai and Azula took charge of the situation.

Mai, who was standing at Ty Lee's side, grabbed Haru by the hair and tugged him off Ty Lee, who sank to the floor, clutching her throat, as Haru's hands raced back to clutch the back of his head. Azula, who had been at the cheerleader's other side, promptly and heedlessly pulled the red ribbon she'd tied her hair up with that morning, out of her hair. She grasped Haru's wrists and wrapped the ribbon around them in one swift swirl, tying it tight and letting Mai elbow him to the floor on his back, his wrists tied beneath his ass.

By the time a crowd had assembled, the fight was over. Haru was on the ground and the standing of the trio helped their friend up. A teacher pushed through the crowd and saw Haru tied on the ground. "What happened here?" he demanded.

"They're fucking crazy! Those crazy fucking bitches tried to-,"

"Mr. Dorian, if I may; this idiot assaulted our friend, and any person here will testify to it. Mai and myself detained him without any unnecessary force." Azula spoke diplomatically, tossing her long black tresses and fingering through them proudly. "I for one would like to see Haru expelled. Mai?"

"You know it." Mai answered Azula.

"Ty Lee?" Azula put a hand on her friend's shoulder. Ty Lee was still clutching her throat and coughing. She managed a nod of sorts.

Mr. Dorian looked to the gang. "Is what she says true?" he asked abruptly.

"He grabbed Ty Lee by the throat." Zuko replied dryly, glaring down at Haru briefly.

Dorian shook his head. "Greg!" he yelled down the hall, and the giant of a groundskeeper came to his side. "Take this young man to the headmaster's office." The groundskeeper nodded silently and grabbed Haru by the shirt, pulling him up to his feet, and herded him down the hall.

The gang drew hear to the trio as Mr. Dorian left. "What the hell was that about?" Sokka breathed.

Ty Lee shook her head mildly. "I want to go home." She croaked to Azula.

"That can be arranged." Azula nodded. "If you'll excuse us." She eyed her brother with a genial nod, almost thanking him for his concern. He grabbed Azula's arm and stopped her.

"Wait. Katara, give Ty Lee that money you got." He looked to Katara.

"What?" the others chorused in confusion.

"You said you wanted to do something good with the money." Zuko addressed Katara again.

Katara thought on this for a moment. She gave a small nod and reached into her bag, producing the money clip. "Here." She smiled, giving Ty Lee the money. "I never wanted it."

"Are you sure?" Ty Lee asked meekly.

Katara looked at Zuko briefly, agreeing with him with her bright blue eyes, and then let her gaze fall back on Ty Lee. "It's like he said. And I don't know anyone else I'd want to give it to."

* * *

><p>Ty Lee Sisko sat down at her dining room table, her parents opposite her, and her two best friends in the world either side of her. "Mom. Dad." She took a shaky breath. Mai and Azula instantly took each of Ty Lee's trembling hands. She gave a tiny smile and met her mother's harsh gaze. She supposed her parents thought she was wasting their time. "I'm pregnant." She swallowed hard.<p>

She instantly felt sick, as their eyes lit up in … in joy. "Oh, my sweetheart!" her mother hugged her father briefly before looking back to Ty Lee. "That's wondrous news! I suppose that lovely young man Haru asked you to marry him-,"

"No." Ty Lee shook her head, nausea making her head spin. "He's not a lovely young man, he's a jerk. I don't want to marry him, and I don't want to have a baby. Not with him. Not now. I ... I want an abortion." her voice shook.

Her father turned bright red and shot up out of his seat. "How could you possibly- We raised you a good Catholic girl, Wei Lee, it's completely against your religion-,"

"No!" Ty Lee stood up too, snatching her hands from her friends, one falling at her side and the other pointing accusingly at her father. "It's against _your _religion! And my **name** is _Ty Lee_!" she yelled. Mai and Azula stood up too, their eyes harsh on the Sisko family matriarch and patriarch. "I'm sick of you! Both of you! I couldn't live up to your expectations if I had wings on my back and shat _gold_!" she spat viciously.

"Ty Lee, you need to relax." Mai put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know you don't want the baby, but you don't want to miscarry either."

Ty Lee took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I'd rather join a fucking circus than live with you nutcases." She spat, before taking a long breath and heading upstairs. "Mai, Azula. Help me pack my bags." She called from the stairs. Mai smiled inwardly; she could never say that to her own parents, and she knew how long it had taken Ty Lee to build that strength. When she got home, she would raise a hand, briefly gain her parents attention and say; _This is Ty Lee, she lives with us now. _And they wouldn't argue, because nobody ever argued with Mai, quite simply because nobody knew how to talk to a girl who rejected society.

* * *

><p>Katara and Zuko skipped their final lesson and walked out in the snow toward the bench at the edge of the grounds. "Thank you for making me do that. I feel good for giving it to her." She looked to him, walking at her side. She felt like she'd done something good today; like she'd made a difference.<p>

"You're welcome." Zuko smiled to himself. "So … can I see that picture you took?" he met her bright blue eyes.

They reached the bench and sat down. Katara thought for a moment. "Maybe." She finally answered, before laughing. She reached into her bag and took out the digital camera she'd taken the picture with. "Fine; because you're my best friend, you get a sneak peek." She switched it on and showed it to him.

Zuko's eyes locked on his image, leaping from one building to the next. It was a cool shot, it didn't show his mask, but it showed it was blue and white. "Cool." He gave a small nod as she took it back. He took a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. "Was it worth nearly getting killed?" he asked, putting the cigarette between his lips and lighting the end. He put the lighter back.

"I don't know. It was scary; it was like when … when my mom and I got mugged on vacation. When she died." Her voice faltered, caught on a jagged lump in her throat.

Zuko frowned. "You didn't say you were with her when she died." He turned his head to meet see her staring down at the snow.

Katara shut her eyes. "I didn't tell my dad either. I told him and Sokka I went to get us some snacks. It was better for him to blame me for leaving her than it would've been for him to put me in counseling."

Zuko blinked slowly, taking a long breath. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." she answered bluntly, just a little coldly.

Zuko sighed smoke and leant forward, elbows on his knees. His shoulder hurt, but not too bad. "You okay?" he asked tentatively.

She shook her head and wiped the tears threatening to fall. "It's my mom's birthday today."

"Oh." Zuko's face softened as much as it could. He tried to figure out what he was supposed to say here, but he couldn't. Katara was struggling not to cry. He hated to see her like this; once when Jet had upset her, she'd been like this and Zuko had nearly broken the guy's arm using a now well-used technique of holding a perpetrators arm behind their back. "Want a hug?" he asked softly, leaning back against the bench and raising an arm.

Katara gave a little nod and got under his arm, sniffling. Zuko threw his cigarette away and hugged her with both arms, as both her hands clenched on the leather of his jacket. He gave the top of her head a tiny kiss. "You're good to me." She smiled briefly into his jacket, sadness still in her voice as she pulled her legs up onto the bench.

"Always will be." He promised, and let his thumb stroke her arm slowly. He swore the same to himself; he'd never let Katara hurt alone. Katara was grateful for this.

* * *

><p>"Dad?" Katara asked loudly, walking through the front door alone. Sokka had gone to Suki's house for (un)known reasons. "Dad, I'm home." She furrowed her brow and clutched her bag a little tighter. It was quiet; too quiet. She climbed the stairs and tossed her bag into her room, where it bounced on her bed before smacking on to the floor. She could check for him later, she wanted to get changed; she smelt of tears and tobacco smoke. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, but she didn't want to smell like that right now. She wished she smelt of her mother; of patchouli and honeysuckle.<p>

Katara walked into her bedroom and shrugged her jacket off, tossing it to the floor. She pulled off her blue long-sleeve shirt and grabbed a black 'My Chemical Romance' t-shirt, kicked off her ankle boots and pulled off the cargo pants she'd been wearing. She approached her closet and pulled a pair of fashion-torn skinny jeans off a hanger, grabbing her denim sneakers from the shelf and throwing everything on. She pulled her leather jacket back on and crossed the hall to her father's bedroom.

He never slept during the day, but she supposed he was grieving for her mother a little bit. Katara pushed the door open and poked her head in. "Dad?" she asked slowly. He had been sleeping; she could see a lump under the duvet. It was a large lump considering- she felt the color drain from her face as her father pushed his secretary off of him and sat up, sweaty and flushed. Katara covered her eyes. "Oh my god!" she yelped, turning her back and leaving the room. She waited in the hall for him to emerge in a robe.

"Katara-,"

"Seriously?" Katara turned to glare at him. "Seriously, Dad?" she snapped again.

"Watch your tone, young lady." Hakoda tried his best to regain his composure. "Now, I'm a grown man and if I want to begin a relationship, I'm free to do so." He crossed his arms.

Katara stared daggers at him. "I'm going to see a movie. Knock yourself out." She turned his back to him and descended the stairs, grabbing her wallet on the way out the front door.

She'd catch an early showing and then … Toph, Aang and Zuko could meet her at Suki's house for them to have a small party. She walked on, her mind in a tailspin. How could her father choose her mother's birthday to go and fuck some secretary? Was he trying to bash Kya's memory? She felt sick with it all, her stomach churning discomfort and heart lurching for understanding.

Being winter, it was already starting to get dark by the time her feet got her to the movie theater. She looked up and around a little bit, just scanning for the Blue Spirit out of curiosity, before walking into the foyer and looking up at the advertisements. The Paranormal Activity movie was showing for the last time in five minutes. That was what she'd see.

"Katara?" there was a voice.

Katara spun around to see Zuko smiling at her. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she smiled brightly, relieved to see a familiar face.

"I'm kind of busy most evenings, so I thought I'd catch an early movie." He shrugged. "What are you seeing?" he asked.

"Paranormal Activity. You?" she flipped open her wallet to check her allowance was there. The notes were there, untouched.

"Same." Zuko answered as they stepped into the line to the ticket booth. "I thought you and Sokka would be with your dad, though."

Katara frowned. "Me too, but he has … other company." Her tone on its own expressed that her father was fucking like a monkey, she'd walked in on that, and she'd stormed out on him.

Zuko put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, now so do you." He smiled warmly, his fingers squeezing her a little. Katara smiled briefly, approaching the booth. They bought their tickets, with a little age-swaying, and entered the theater. They found their seats, and Zuko left Katara for a few minutes to go and get snacks.

As soon as he returned, Katara grabbed hold of his hand with one of hers, and his upper arm with the other. Zuko grinned and waited for the movie to scream loudly, for Katara to tense up, her grip even tighter on him. There was a split second in which Zuko wondered what it would be like for her to grip him that tight when she wasn't scared; a second where he liked her holding him like that. The moment soon passed, but the thought didn't disappear. He could push it to the back of his mind, but he knew it would resurface.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not quite sure about that ending there. I don't like to bunch two scenes into one block between line breaks, I like for them to have a break between, but that would've made both scenes too short. Review any ideas. Thanks, Rhia. xx REVIEWS will bring you the NEXT chapter. Also, I'm working on the next chapter of The Vacation! Preview for the next part? I think so ...**

* * *

><p>Katara was drinking, but not for recreation. She was in the upstairs hall of Chan Nakoma's father's beach house, leaning on the railing and looking down at the people dancing to the hardcore disco music that pumped from the expensive speakers in each corner of the main room, most of them at least partially drunk and half of them hanging on members of the opposite sex. Katara held a small bottle of straight vodka in one hand, occasionally taking a few sips.<p>

_'…It up, can't stop, 'cause it feels like an overdose … oh, oh, evacuate the dancefloor … oh, oh, I'm infected by the sound … oh, oh, stop this beat, it's killing me …' _

Katara screwed up her face momentarily. She was sure the lead singer of Cascada didn't know what an overdose felt like. Katara knew there were probably a million mixtures of drugs that made a million different results, but Katara had ended up convulsing, foaming at the mouth with her eyes trying to roll back in her head. The worst bit had been that, although everyone thought she had been, she hadn't passed out by that point. She had been in physical pain, her whole body trying to implode and explode at once as she tried to let it happen without struggling too much.


	7. Fudge, Pt 2

Katara's phone went off as she and Zuko left the theater. She plucked it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen, hoping it wasn't her father calling. Thankfully, it wasn't. She turned off silent mode and accepted the call, bringing the phone to her ear. "Hey, Toph." She answered.

"_Looks like you took my advice about going on a date with Sparky."_ Toph spoke over the phone.

Katara gave a short laugh. "No, I ran into him here. We just saw Paranormal Activity Two. Where are you?" she looked around.

"_Straight ahead, Virgin Queen." _Toph hung up.

Katara put her phone back and looked straight out the doors of the cinema; Toph was walking in from the darkness outside. Katara and Zuko walked toward Toph and became a trio, heading back outside to the street. "What's up, Toph?" Katara gave a small yawn and looked to her friend.

"Chan Nakoma is throwing a party tonight. Aang is meeting me there, and he called Sokka and Suki, they're going too. You guys coming?" she checked her phone and saw the time; 6:44pm. "Starts at seven."

Katara glanced back to Zuko. "I am. The longer I don't have to see my dad, the better."

Zuko debated with himself; if someone got murdered tonight because he wasn't there to help them, he'd have to blame himself. Now he saw why Bruce Wayne had no friends. "I'll be there. I'll be fashionably late." He nodded with a sigh. "I got some stuff to sort out at home."

"See you at nine." Toph waved a hand as Zuko left for his bike parked around the corner. "So, are we walking or does the queen need a palanquin?" Toph gestured up the road, where they could see the beginnings of the coastal beach-houses. "It's not too far for her royal highness?"

Katara scoffed a laugh and elbowed Toph in the shoulder. "We can walk."

"Alrighty then." Toph led the way, Katara not far behind her. "Onward we go!" she cried out dramatically, grabbing Katara's wrist and tugging her along.

* * *

><p>Katara was drinking, but not for recreation. She was in the upstairs hall of Chan Nakoma's father's beach house, leaning on the railing and looking down at the people dancing to the hardcore disco music that pumped from the expensive speakers in each corner of the main room, most of them at least partially drunk and half of them hanging on members of the opposite sex. Katara held a small bottle of straight vodka in one hand, occasionally taking a few sips.<p>

'…_It up, can't stop, 'cause it feels like an overdose … oh, oh, evacuate the dancefloor … oh, oh, I'm infected by the sound … oh, oh, stop this beat, it's killing me …' _

Katara screwed up her face momentarily. She was sure the lead singer of Cascada didn't know what an overdose felt like. Katara knew there were probably a million mixtures of drugs that made a million different results, but Katara had ended up convulsing, foaming at the mouth with her eyes trying to roll back in her head. The worst bit had been that, although everyone thought she had been, she hadn't passed out by that point. She had been in physical pain, her whole body trying to implode and explode at once as she tried to let it happen without struggling too much.

Sokka had told her what she'd first said when she woke up. _'I want my mom.' _

Katara hadn't been surprised. She tipped up the bottle in her hand and poured some vodka into her mouth. The world was a confusing place. She thought back to what she'd said to Jet. _'I don't know if I'm capable of loving __**anyone**__,' _she'd told him. Maybe she was right; after all, who could ever love a person with such a past? There would always be a little it of uncertainty, a little insecurity in any relationship with a person that knew her past. Maybe she'd end up like that Humanities teacher, Miss. Loader. She was about sixty-five, a spinster and totally overly religious. Katara shuddered at the thought.

Katara looked down to the dancers; some girls grinding on boys they probably didn't even know, and some couples drunkenly whispering in each other's ears suggestively. Anyone who'd come in alone, aside from her, was now either _dancing_ with a member of the opposite sex or _tonguing_ them. One girl was even giving a lap dance to a guy sitting in a chair, close to passing out in drunkenness. Katara was pretty drunk, but for a change, it wasn't a happy drunk. It was the kind of drunk where you lie down on your bathroom floor and contemplate a suicide you're way too drunk to actually commit, so you just settle for a good cry.

She could see Suki and Sokka hugging onto eachother, each with a hand in each other's back pocket, dancing to the music, probably not quite as drunk as everyone else, but still rather dizzy, judging by the way their free hands gripped each other. Aang was sitting in a club lounge chair, Toph sitting on his lap, the both of them sharing a large bottle of tequila. Jet was trying hopelessly to get the attention of Jin Territa, who was sitting on one of the speakers, headbanging to the music with one leg crossed over the other, chatting up one of the jocks. The world was fucking crazy.

Zuko showed up at half-past ten, looking kind of tired and a little bit roughed up. He walked in the door and instantly spotted Katara sitting on the arm of a lounge chair, talking to a depressed-looking Jet. He walked up to her and gave an acknowledging nod to Jet, who was drinking a martini.

"Hey, what's up?" Zuko gave a small yawn, grabbing two bottles of vodka from a nearby drinks arrangement on a coffee table. He handed her one and opened his by hand. Katara opened hers on the edge of the coffee table before taking a long sip.

"We're drinking out of … depression. Want to … join us?" Katara gave a brief smile to Zuko, slurring a little bit. By now, if she were a happy sort of drunk, she'd be lap dancing too.

"Why not?" Zuko smirked, before guzzling from his bottle of vodka.

"Nah, I think I'm going home." Jet poured the rest of his drink down his throat and took the toothpick and olive out. He bit the olive off and put the toothpick between his lips. "I got a whole lotta nothin' to catch up on." he got up, put the glass down and gave Katara a pat on the shoulder before heading for the door, grabbing his coat at the same time from the coat hanger nearby.

"See ya." Katara called after him.

Zuko took Jet's place beside Katara and took another sip from his drink. He let his eyes wander over her. Her wavy, dark brown hair fell to the small of her back, the front pinned back loosely and a few shocks of hair framing her face, and bright blue eyes fell on his face as he admired her. She was thin, but not lean; muscular, and Zuko would have been a fool not to acknowledge the great ass she had.

"What … are you looking at?" Katara smirked, up-ending the bottle of vodka and guzzling its contents away. She put the empty bottle down on the floor.

Zuko let a smile onto his face. "I'm just trying to figure out how thick a guy has to be to undervalue a girl like you." he let his eyes fall back to his drink, before he took another gulp of vodka. He meant it; she was breathtaking, amazing, a whole other bunch of words he could've picked out of a thesaurus. And on top of all her beauty and charm, she was lucid, intelligent and easy to talk to. He couldn't believe she'd been in his 'friend-zone' for this long. He didn't know if she was still in that zone anymore.

Katara smiled brightly. "Thanks." She felt hot color in her cheeks as she grabbed herself another drink.

Zuko realized she'd finished the one he'd just handed her. He raised an eyebrow. "How many have you had so far?"

Katara shrugged. "Twelve, Thirteen." She slurred, before peeling the cap off on the nearby coffee table. "This … is _fourteen_ … I think."

Zuko nodded slowly. "You really are drinking out of depression, then."

"Mm-hmm," Katara stood up on wobbly legs. "But actually … I think I wanna dance now." She grinned down at him. "Wanna dance with me?"

Zuko shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm just gonna wallow in self-pity." He raised his bottle to her. "Have fun."

"Okay…" she murmured. "…you too…" she grabbed suddenly for the arm of the chair as she faltered, mumbling something like 'oh, shit' as she struggled not to fall. "Oof… Actually, I'll just … sit … awhile …" she perched herself again next to Zuko, drowning her sorrows in mass quantities of alcohol, just like her companion.

There was a long period, about half an hour maybe, where they just sat, drinking. Suddenly, after four more drinks, Katara spoke to him. "You know what's … what's wrong with the world?" she turned on her perch to face him.

Zuko, not near as drunk as he'd hoped to be by now, replied. "What's wrong with the world?" he looked up at her.

"There's … too much … sex." She poked Zuko in the chest.

"Too much sex." He gave a small nod. "Really." He added sarcastically. "Where? Where is this excess sex? 'Cause I'd love to know that."

"Shh … don't interrupt me, it's … it's all _sex, sex, sex, _with the whole world, and I know this because … I walked in … on my dad screwing his secretary … in my mom's bed …" Katara gave a small sigh and jutted out her bottom lip like a six-year-old.

Zuko raised a hand and put a hand on her back. "You're having a really bad day." he thought aloud.

"Yeah, I am … but … at least … I have … umm … uh … _you_." She grinned suddenly.

There was a long silence, Zuko just nodding as he put his third empty bottle down. He felt a little more awake when Katara turned and slid from the arm of the chair into his lap, grinning up at him. He caught the scent of her breath and shook his head. "Whoa, Katara, you need to stop drinking now."

Katara nodded lethargically, poking his finger into his chest. "You make a comfy chair." She checked his chest for more comfy-ness with a flat palm.

Zuko got up, forcing her to get up as well. She wavered on her unsteady legs of jelly, and (thankfully) grabbed hold of his _un_injured shoulder to stay upright. "Stay here for a sec." he guided her back into the chair, where she sank down in even more comfort, grabbing the last drink from the coffee table beside her. Twenty? Nineteen? She didn't know.

Zuko found his way through the crowd to Sokka, who was dancing, though it looked more like swaying, with Suki, to the music. Zuko tapped Suki on the shoulder. Looking dazed, she turned and greeted Zuko. "Hey, what's going on?" she was a lot more sober than her counterpart, possibly as much as Zuko was.

"I need to borrow your car to take Katara home. Take Sokka back to your place." Zuko held out his hand for the keys.

Suki nodded and pulled her keys out of her pocket. "Where is she?" she looked about curiously.

Zuko took the keys, turned and pointed through the now sparse crowd to a club chair with Katara slumped on it with a bottle of vodka in one hand. She seemed to be asleep. Zuko briefly thanked Suki before returning to Katara. He poked her in the arm to wake her up, however it was ineffective and did not do the task he had wanted it to. "Katara." He spoke softly, grabbing her arm and shaking her a little bit.

She didn't move, stir or change position. She was as limp as a corpse. Zuko leant in a little further to check that she was breathing. She was, and therefore, she had conclusively passed out. Zuko heaved a heavy sigh, grabbing under her knees and pulling her a little closer to as to make it easier for him to lift her. He slid one arm behind her knees and used the other to lift her upper half over his uninjured shoulder, grunting a little as her dead weight hit him. Standing straight, he jangled the keys in his hand and made for the door.

* * *

><p>Zuko used Katara's keys to get into the house, and carried her up the stairs, into the bedroom he knew to be hers, as he'd crashed there many a time before. He could only barely make out the shapes in the dark; the lights were off and it seemed like Hakoda and his lady friend had taken their private party elsewhere. Zuko felt a little uncertain about leaving an extremely drunk girl in a darkened house alone; the Blue Spirit knew what kind of lowlifes habited not a mile away.<p>

"Mmmmmnnngh." Katara moaned as he set her down in the middle of the oversized bed. She grasped his shirt tightly in one tight fist, forcing him to sit beside her on the bed. He smelt nice; she tugged the shirt to her nose so she could smell it. She let a small smile onto her face in her halved awareness. Zuko was conscious of her smelling his clothes. "You smell … nice." She mumbled. She blinked her eyes open, but only into narrow slits, looking up at Zuko, who was awkwardly perched on the edge of the bed with one knee up on it beside him. "…what happened to the … music?" she looked around, her hand letting go of his shirt.

"You passed out. I got you home." He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

'_Oh, no! You can't be here! Dad didn't want Zuko hanging out with me-,' _another voice in her head, one that could be called the 'Devil' on her right shoulder, interrupted the angel on her left. That sometimes happened when she was drunk.

'_Oh, fuck off, you didn't __**want**__ to walk in on him fucking that secretary, but you did. How can you respect a man with such poor judgment?'_

Zuko sighed, sliding his hand under her head and unclipping her hair so she could be more comfortable. "I should get going before your dad gets back." He moved to get up.

Katara grasped his shirt again. Zuko sank back to the mattress and looked back to her face. "Stay." She pleaded softly.

"Katara-,"

"Please." Her voice was quiet. Needing. Barely above a whisper.

Zuko stared into her bright blue eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Her desperation poured into his soul; it was the same need he'd felt as he asked her to come with him to the beach. He shut his eyes in defeat. He'd promised himself she'd never hurt alone. He couldn't break a promise; not to her. He nodded curtly, using his feet to kick off his own shoes, his hands going for her sneakers to help her get comfortable.

They managed to remove her shoes with a few tries, and Katara managed to pull herself up and remove her own jeans. Zuko had seen her in her underwear before, but not since she'd left his friend-zone. He turned his back to her and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Can you get me … one of those loose t-shirts … in that chest of drawers?" she asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly and pointing a piece of furniture near the door. Zuko got up and approached the chest. "Middle drawer." She added as he turned to ask.

He returned with an oversized royal blue t-shirt that had probably once belonged to her mother. He looked back to Katara, who had somehow in that short time, removed her jacket, shirt and bra. One arm covered her chest, her hair helping, as she grabbed the shirt from Zuko, who'd turned away once again with a shade of red creeping over his face; not that you could tell in the dark. Her eyebrows were down in concentration as she pulled it on over her head and pushed her arms through the sleeves.

Katara had thrown her clothes on the floor and climbed under she sheets. "Zuko?" she asked in the dark, frail uncertainty in her voice.

Zuko turned and saw her perched up on her elbows. "I'm here." He answered, returning to the bed. He lifted the sheets and climbed in, carefully away from Katara. His distance didn't last long, however, as Katara scooted up to him and pushed under his arm, her arm on his chest, grateful for the company. She breathed in the smell of him; tobacco smoke, which for some reason she liked, and an aged sandalwood scent.

At first, Zuko felt uneasy; Katara was lying next to him, somewhat _on _him, in just an oversized t-shirt and a pair of black lacey panties he's accidentally caught sight of before he could turn away. But then he saw her need; her need for him to just be there with her and keep her company. He fell asleep beside his best friend, but he told himself before he nodded off, that he couldn't go on like this. It wasn't fair to Katara, and it wasn't fair to him. He'd have to find a way to get his feelings under control.

* * *

><p>Zuko was awakened by the sound of an infant crying. His eyebrow(s) came down hard and he clutched the sheets even tighter.<p>

"It's your turn." Katara moaned from behind him. Reluctantly, Zuko climbed out of the bed and approached a cot on the other side of the room. He peered down into it and saw a whining baby that had kicked away a cream-colored fleece blanket. He picked up the baby and held it on his hip, bouncing to calm it as it put it head against his shoulder. There was suddenly another crying sound from far off. _'Oh, fuck.' _Zuko thought to himself. _'What __**now**__?'_

"Oh, god." Katara groaned from the bed, forcing herself to sit up. "So much for sleeping." She scratched her head tiredly. A little boy walked in with a teddy bear so large it dragged on the floor as he walked. The teddy looked familiar to Zuko. "What's wrong, Kuzon?" she rubbed at her eyes.

"I had a bad dream." The little boy clutched his bear in both arms.

"Really? What happened in this dream?" Katara motioned for the boy to climb onto the bed.

"You and daddy split up like Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki, and then I had to live with Grandpa Ozai and he was shouting at me like he did yesterday." Kuzon grasped the bottom of the bed and tugged himself up onto the mattress, rubbing at his eyes with hands that were clenched in tiny, pudgy fists.

Katara took the boy into her arms. "Well, we all know that's never going to happen. Don't we, Zuko?" she looked up, and Zuko caught a flash of her brilliant smile, a little boy with shocks of black hair and bright blue eyes in her lap. "Nobody's going to send you to live with big, fat Mr. Grumpy-pants."

"Promise?"

"Zuko? Zuko, wake up." Zuko blinked his eyes open and saw Katara leaning over him. "Oh, hey." She let out a breath of relief. "Thought you died on me or something."

Zuko pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around. It was Katara's bedroom, not the vague bedroom in his dream; there was no crib, and no baby, and no little boy sharing in his woes. "You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

He looked back to Katara and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine… how are you?" he pulled himself up into a sitting position. "You were pretty fucked up last night." She was sitting on top of the sheets beside him, still in nothing but the t-shirt and panties.

Katara gave an agreeing nod of sorts. "Still a bit hung over." She shrugged awkwardly. She was still a bit bent out of shape over her father and the secretary. "Thanks … for staying last night."

Zuko just smiled and climbed out of the bed, his jeans clinging to him until he freed himself of the bed. "How long have you been up?" he rolled his shoulders to wake himself up.

"Five minutes. I just brushed my teeth is all. I was going to make breakfast or something; _we_ don't have any illegal immigrants to cook for us." She kicked her feet over the bed. "I'm gonna check if Sokka came home." She walked out the bedroom and into the hallway, catching her father just as he left his own room.

A long silence ensued, almost like the awkwardness of a staring competition. His eyes were scolding, hers unforgiving. Her hand was already on the rail at the top of the staircase. He was a fair distance from her; far enough that if he wanted to give her something, he'd have to toss it, but the stare was awkward just the same. It couldn't have gotten much more uncomfortable than this.

"Did Sokka come-," Zuko walked out of the bedroom, hair shaggy and his clothes rumpled up.

Correction. It just had.

Hakoda turned bright red. It took a second for him to think of his words and put them together, but he finally did and opened his mouth to shout. He planned to bring the house down. In a split second, Zuko realized exactly what Hakoda had presumed. _Awkward_. "What the _**fuck**_ is going on here?" Oh Shit. Katara knew her father never swore.

Katara bit her lip and pulled a face. Well, at least she was getting an idea of what to expect when this _actually _happened. But not with Zuko. Definitely not with Zuko. She glanced to her friend, apology in her eyes.

"You come into my house in the middle of the night and _**defile**_my daughter?" Hakoda screeched at Zuko, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Explain yourselves! **Both** of you!"

Zuko was a little bit offended. Would the guy really be _that _pissed off if he and Katara were to enter an adult relationship, sex and all? Not that that would happen. Katara felt her blood boil in her veins and that little devil on her shoulder returned. The angel on the other seemed to be stuck in traffic right now.

"Explain _my_self? How about _you _explain **your**self? What, it's okay for you to fuck the **brains** out of your secretary, and it's not for me to have sex **at all**?" Katara shouted back at her father. Zuko was increasingly uncomfortable. Was she telling her father they'd slept together just to get back at him? Zuko had to admit he was the tiniest bit afraid of the wrath of a girlfriend's father; he'd never actually come up against that. A situation as uncoordinated as this was beyond his imagination, which was for the most part, rather vast.

"**That's** different! You are **fifteen** years old, you live in **my** house, and that is the son of **Ozai Scorsese**!" Hakoda gripped the banister and tried to contain his uninformed rage.

Katara pulled a sickened face, calming herself and shaking her head. "The world is filled with double-standards; it's okay for you to be a nymph, it's okay for Sokka to fuck Suki in the girls' bathroom, but me? Oh, no, I think I'll take the bad-dogging instead." Sarcasm dripping from her tongue, Katara glanced to Zuko, who looked like he couldn't take any more drama. "Besides; he only crashed here 'cause I asked him to. _In fact, _you should thank him, because I was drunk, and he brought me home." She glowered at her father. "And don't even _pretend_ you think I give a flying **fuck** who Zuko's father is."

Hakoda's mouth had gone dry. He gave her one more glare of guilt, still trying to decipher whether or not they'd slept together. Even if they had, she seemed to be able to handle any man at all. Even her own father. He settled for the one thing he _could _tell her to do. "Well, put some pants on!"

Zuko stifled a tiny laugh as Katara walked back into her bedroom.

"What are you laughing at?" Hakoda snapped.

Zuko swallowed and stood straight. "Uh … nothing, sir."

Katara returned, now in a pair of knee-length cargo pants and a bra on under the loose t-shirt. "Come on, Zuko, let's get something to eat." She led the way down the stairs, paused at the bottom of them and gave a tiny grunt of annoyance at the pair of hot pink panties on the floor. "Fucking slut." She muttered, leading the way into the kitchen and grabbing at the kettle, slapping it on.

"Your dad is … uh, lively." Zuko leant against the counter, tucking his hands into his pocket.

"Sorry; he has a tendency to overreact." Katara shrugged, reaching up and grabbing two mugs from the cupboard. She managed a tiny laugh. "Defile. Did you hear that? _Defile_ me?" she shook her head in amusement. "Asshole." She fixed two strong cups of coffee and waited for the kettle to boil. "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

Zuko rubbed his good eye tiredly. "I don't usually eat breakfast."

Katara stared for a moment. "Like, ever?"

"The mornings are pretty much just a routine of 'get out of the house before Ozai is awake'." Zuko crossed his arms over his stomach. "I don't get how Azula manages to sit and eat with him; even she doesn't like him that much."

Katara gave a small nod. "Can I ask you a question? It's kind of personal."

"Sure."

She looked into the middle distance. "Were you ever happy? You, and your parents and Azula?" she hadn't meant for it to sound so critical, and she was thankful that Zuko had known this.

Zuko sighed heavily. "No. My whole life my father has been bad news for me and the rest of my family."

"How did your parents hook up, then?" Katara inquired curiously.

Zuko drummed his fingers on the counter behind him. "My father asked my grandparents, on my mothers side, for her hand. She didn't even know the guy. She came from a prominent family, and so did he, so … her parents just said yes." He shut his eyes in thought. "It was a long time ago; a different time."

"Twenty years isn't all that long ago. That's … that's horrible." Katara's eyebrows rose in disbelief. She turned and poured the kettle water into the coffee mugs. She took one and outstretched the other to him. "You take milk?"

Zuko shook his head and took the coffee. "It's a time that has moved on. Roland would have understood." He smirked, glancing at something behind her.

Katara nearly dropped her coffee. Once she got a firm grip on it again, she stared at him. "You read 'The Dark Tower'?" she choked in surprise.

Zuko pointed to the book on the counter behind her, her blue and purple bookmark sticking out proudly from the end of it. "I didn't know you had."

"Well, not yet. I'm waiting for 'The Waste Lands'. It was supposed to get here yesterday." Katara grinned at him. "What's the end like?"

Zuko smiled. "I'm not going to ruin it for you. I'll just say it's not what you expect." He raised his cup. "To the Gunslinger."

Katara laughed and raised hers. "To Roland." She returned the toast and took a sip. After a while, she looked to the fridge and discovered that her appetite had disappeared. "I'm not hungry anymore." She stated aloud.

"Daddy-problems will do that to you." Zuko laughed into his cup.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I upload because I am drunk; this be part two of the fudge chaptarr, and I be castin awwff nar to gouu ta dreamland, to free mi'self from the hab'ts o' drinkn 'far I find mself bent uver the porcelain god and blo'in chunks unto it. Harr be a pravieu of the naxt ch'pter, and neglectin' to leave a pleasant revieu is yll-edvised and will refl'ct bahdly on y'rself and I moight leive it fer m're thn a day next i uplud fer ya.**

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><p>"Oh, she owns a terracotta adobe colonial not far from the beach, on Milton Avenue." She smiled in reply. The kind of smile he offered him was somehow even more friendly that the ones she'd offered the others, but Katara was too busy repeating Lydia's stupid accent in her head; 'terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll. terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll', to notice.<p>

"**I** live on Milton Avenue." Zuko offered a smile. "I could give you a lift home if you want."

Lydia thought about this for a moment. "That would be lovely."

_'Luh-veley. How luh-veley that would be, for you to take me hewm to my mother's terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll,' _Katara thought to herself, stealing another bit of pasta from Toph's food. Zuko was buying even more bullshit than the others; he was buying it by the ton and paying by credit card. _'And be my knight in shyening ah-mour when those **dreadful **__East-Enders come to chase me with pitchfauks and tauches.'_


	8. Maltesers

Sokka was leading Suki into the boys' bathroom on break time Wednesday, when someone called his name.

"Sokka!" someone called after him. Sokka froze and turned. Mrs. Shawn, an Australian woman who taught history and was in charge of student additions, was walking toward him, a confused looking blonde girl trailing behind her.

"Mrs. Shawn … what a pleasant surprise." He laughed nervously. Suki stood beside him, just as awkward-looking.

"Mr. Marina, I was wondering if perhaps you could show Lydia here around; she just moved here." Mrs. Shawn smiled politely. "I will permit for you to leave lessons five minutes early to collect her from hers."

Sokka reached up and scratched his head, careful not to upset his manly ponytail. "Uhh … sure." He answered in confusion. "No Problem." Suki choked on her own air.

"Thank you, Sokka. If you could just bring her down to my office after last lesson, I'd be so grateful." Mrs. Shawn motioned to Lydia to join the two, turned away and whisked off down the hall.

"Hello." Lydia greeted them, unperturbed, in a stately British accent.

"Hi, I'm Suki." Suki held out her hand to shake. She was apparently going to be much better at helping Lydia than Sokka was. "Come on, we'll show you around."

* * *

><p>'<em>Desolation of a heavy heart,<em>

_Not a soul comes to my rescue._

_Misery and Sorrow are the dragons_

_That encircle the tower of my woes.'_

The words on the notebook were poetic, melancholy almost as thick as the ink of the writing. They were also melodramatic and embodied the characteristics of what Mai would call a 'wannabe'. She turned her eyes away from the notebook of the girl sat beside her in her Geography class and glared down at her own notebook. It was home to many poems and phrases she liked, as well as drawings of mythical dragons and alchemic representations of situations, but never was her poetry as blunt as that on the notebook to her left. She flipped her book to a verse she'd written a few months ago while she'd been writing a horror story for her English class.

'_Dark red blood droplets hit the top of his head,_

_He looks up and stares at the cracks in the ceiling._

_Crimson death is steadily spattering down._

_Upstairs, his beloved Roxanne has been opened_

_And gouged out of her body,_

_By the psychopathic monster she called 'Daddy','_

It gave Mai a sick sense of amusement. She didn't know why, but the writings of blood and death enchanted her more than some trivially jazzed-up version of Rapunzel. She hadn't, up until now, taken any notice of the girl she sat next to in this lesson; she was mildly aware that she was a new student. She glanced sharply, but it was all she needed to see and categorize the girl. She was pale, not quite as much as Mai, more like the complexion of that bald kid Zuko hung around with. She had bleach-blonde hair, green eyes and a very light brushing of foundation on. Mai didn't like her; she looked too pure. Sure, Ty Lee had the same effect on some people, but inside, so to speak, Mai knew Ty Lee had just as many problems as she and Azula did. It wasn't even about the problems; it was about being able to understand each other's problems.

"Class dismissed." Mr. Baldwin announced. Like a Mexican wave, the whole class stood up, grabbing their bags and heading for the door. Their books had been packed away a long time now.

Mai grabbed her notebook, workbook and pencil case, lined her bag up with the desk and slid all her stuff into it. She flipped it shut and flung it over her shoulder. Pushing her way through the crowd, she got out into the hall and scanned the student body for a familiar face. She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking until someone smashed into the back of her. She crashed into a locker, took a moment to regain her composure, turned around and stared at the blonde girl, who was already yelling at her.

"Excuse me! Watch where you're going!" Blondie snapped at Mai, in a girly, posh, British accent. "Clumsy oaf!"

Mai was taken aback. Nobody talked to _Mai Tamesis _like that, and she was determined to keep it that way. There was a brief catch of breath over the whole hall; they knew as well as her that nobody ever crossed Mai. Blondie seemed not to know this. The Goth girl pulled an eerily apathetic expression. "You're pretty big for your boots, newbie." She lifted a hand and inspected her black-painted nails.

"I was just about to say the same thing." the blonde girl snapped right back.

Mai gave a thoughtful nod. "You drive?"

The blonde girl looked taken aback. "What?"

"Never mind." Mai smirked, before turning her back on the girl. She didn't need to say any more; the doubt was planted in the girl's mind, and that's all she wanted. She knew by the keys clipped to the girl's rucksack that she drove. Next time she did, her blood pressure would go up when she powered up the engine. That's how Mai worked, you see; she got into people's heads and fucked around with their minds.

* * *

><p>Zuko caught his finger in his locker. "Fuck!" he cursed.<p>

"Watch what you're doing. You're going to hurt yourself unless you calm down." Katara had been following him, trying to get him to talk. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He grunted in frustration. He was just too confused to talk to anyone right now.

"Not even to me?" Katara asked innocently.

"Especially not to you." Zuko replied coldly.

There was a pause before the younger girl answered. "Is this about what happened on Saturday?" she inquired, this time in exasperation.

"No. Although it would be nice if your dad _didn't _think we spent the night getting _intimate._" He snapped his head to her, gold eyes pouring into blue ones with a gaze so cold it could freeze hell over.

Katara felt her blood run cold. "Well, I'm sorry if I've _offended _you, _**Prince**_ Zuko the **evil spawn**, since you're so far above the likes of a peasant like me!" She smacked his locker shut on his hand and turned away from him, before storming away, hurt and angry.

Zuko's hand didn't hurt nearly as much as Katara's feelings did. He let his eyes follow her up the corridor. He hung his head and shut his locker, and this time his hand was not in the way. This wasn't fair to him, or to Katara. It was making him snap at her, and she couldn't figure out what was bugging him because of the defensive wall he'd built up. Besides, it was best anyway that she didn't know what was bothering him. They were supposed to be best friends, and best friends didn't secretly love each other, except in cheesy romantic novels and crappy high school movies. Life wasn't actually that simple.

They were hardly acting like best friends right now, were they? He jogged after her. "Katara, wait up." He called.

* * *

><p>Aang sat on one seat at their designated cafeteria table, Toph on his lap just as she had been at Chan Nakoma's party, this time one drinking from an orange-juice carton, the other eating from a pasta salad on the cafeteria table. Out of the blue, Katara stormed toward the table and sat opposite Toph and Aang.<p>

"Zuko's being an asshole. Don't talk to him." She instructed them curtly, putting her bag on the floor and pulling out a packet of barbeque potato-chips; the loopy kind that children often put on their fingers. Katara couldn't remember what they were called, and she couldn't be bothered to check the packet.

Zuko appeared pushing through a crowd of jocks, toward them. It was lucky nobody was stupid enough to fuck with Zuko, because Zuko seriously didn't feel like slashing any tires in revenge tonight. He had a new night hobby. He sat down next to Katara and stared at her for a little while. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you, but I haven't figured it out myself yet."

Katara said nothing, but just looked away, ignoring him.

"Oh, come on. Don't be childish."

"I'm not being childish." Katara answered sharply.

Zuko smirked briefly. "Got you to talk."

"Whatever. Jackass."

"What are we fighting about, Mr. & Mrs. Smith?" Toph grinned, before forking some pasta into her mouth.

Aang laughed at her. "That is so _not_ them."

"Is too."

"Is not."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "What are you two talking about?"

Toph cleared her throat to explain. "Me and Aang were using movies to describe people's relationships. Our movie is 'Along Came Polly'."

"I'm with Aang. Ours is _so_ not Mr. & Mrs. Smith. For one, we're **not** _sleeping together_." Zuko glanced at Katara darkly.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're right Zuko, it's 'Rain Man', and you're Dustin Hoffman." She reached across the table and plucked a piece of pasta from Toph's food, popping it into her mouth.

Zuko was cut off from retorting when Sokka and Suki turned up, a strange blonde girl following close. "Hey, guys, this is Lydia. She just came here from _London_, **England**." Suki announced in awe. Instead of 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at the whole London thing, Zuko asked a question.

"Why?"

Lydia sat down and plopped her bag onto the floor. "My father's gone on an expedition to Egypt. I've come here to stay with my mother - my father won't be home for a good two years at _least_." She gave a charming laugh. Katara felt her skin crawl at the insipidness. _Vapid_ was the word she'd use if she were less polite, or that devil on her shoulder managed to murder the angel on her other.

"Huh. Your parents don't live even in the same country? Musta' been one hell of a divorce." Toph shook her head in thought.

Lydia laughed again. "I can see why you would think that. No, my parents have always lived apart. I think that's just the case of an arranged marriage. They never really clicked, I suppose." She looked off into the middle distance dramatically. "It's not really all that surprising that I'm an only child." She seemed to be writing a fucking autobiography, Katara groaned inwardly.

"Hey, Lydia, what's London like?" Aang asked from behind Toph.

"Dull. It never stops raining, and you get those dreadful East-Enders lingering around like cockroaches." She shuddered at the thought. "I have to admit, I was rather excited about coming. The news of that _Blue Spirit _has traveled fast, mind you."

She sounded like something out of Harry Potter. Posh, uppity, and relishing the attention people offered. Katara felt her stomach churning with the affectionate **vomit** she felt for the girl. She usually didn't despise people she hadn't met before, but something about Lydia bothered Katara. She made Mai Tamesis look pretty damn easy to talk to.

"So what part of town does your mom live in?" Zuko asked Lydia. Katara pulled a face; even Zuko was buying into the bullshit.

"Oh, she owns a terracotta adobe colonial not far from the beach, on Milton Avenue." She smiled in reply. The kind of smile he offered him was somehow even more friendly that the ones she'd offered the others, but Katara was too busy repeating Lydia's stupid accent in her head; 'terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll. terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll', to notice.

"**I** live on Milton Avenue." Zuko offered a smile. "I could give you a lift home if you want."

Lydia thought about this for a moment. "That would be lovely."

'_Luh-veley. How luh-veley that would be, for you to take me hewm to my mother's terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll,' _Katara thought to herself, stealing another bit of pasta from Toph's food. Zuko was buying even more bullshit than the others; he was buying it by the ton and paying by credit card. _'And be my knight in shyening ah-mour when those __**dreadful **__East-Enders come to chase me with pitchfauks and tauches.'_

"You're awfully quiet, aren't you?" Lydia addressed the girl with the wavy locks of dark brown hair and bright blue eyes.

The bright blue eyes poured into her soul with the stare she was returned. Katara just had those sort of eyes; the kind that you never forgot. "Yes I am." She answered simply.

This bothered Lydia; she wasn't at all curious about her? Not at all in awe of her brilliance? "Oh. So you're one of those." She looked away with a nervous chuckle, away from the penetrating blue stare.

Across the cafeteria, Mai felt a well of pride at the discomfort Katara had cultivated in Lydia; she had been watching the scene fold out; Katara's silence, Blondie's basking in the attention. Mai hadn't really liked Katara all that much before; she'd seen her as a little too sweet, but now she realized she also played her game; 'Mind-Fuck'.

"One of what?" Katara asked disinterestedly. She'd diagnosed Lydia's weakness; she needed attention, so she adopted a Mai-like attitude. The girl was a year older than her, but that didn't mean she couldn't mess with her head.

"Apathetic. Uncurious. Simpleminded." She dabbled in what she was trying to say, suggest, insult, whatever. The others seemed to like her, but they seemed like the kind of people who were loyal to a friend.

Katara held herself calm. She couldn't let the girl inject her with any sort of emotion or interest. "Simpleminded ain't the thing." She made that uncomfortable eye-contact again. "When you've seen the things I have, you don't really give a shit about someone moving from one place to another." And in fact, Zuko shouldn't have cared either.

The others couldn't really fault Katara for what she said; the girl had pretty much just insulted her intelligence, and everyone knew Katara was no dummy. "Okay, guys, chill." Sokka held up his hands, ever the peace-maker. "Come on, Lydia, we'd best get you to homeroom before rush-hour." Sokka joked, standing up.

Sokka, Suki and Lydia walked away, bags in hand, leaving the others watching after them.

"She's cute." Zuko spoke, more to himself than to anyone else. He glanced to the others for their thoughts. He needed something to take his mind of Katara; and another girl could do that. He suddenly saw the logic behind Hakoda's escapade with the secretary.

"Yeah, kinda." Aang answered.

"In an Elizabeth Hurley kind of way." Toph added.

Katara thought for a moment, until everyone looked at her for her opinion. She looked to Zuko, but couldn't look into his gold eyes as she answered. "Meh, if that's your thing." She shrugged evasively. She wondered why she sounded a little blue, perhaps even sort of disappointed. She frowned at herself. Hang on - was she jealous?

She sat up straight and looked at Zuko, who was looking at Aang and beginning a conversation. No! **Hell no**! She groaned inwardly; only a fool, or a boy, would try to lie to themselves. What a time for her to discover she secretly crushed on her best friend; just as he wanted to fuck off with that dimply, ditzy, uppity, self-important, pompous halfwit!

* * *

><p>Katara took her seat beside Zuko in her last lesson of the day; English. All she had to do was get through this; Zuko's hostility, the stupid substitute and the open windows in the cold room, and she could get home, climb under the covers of her bed and hope, pray and wish that this day had never happened and all been a dream.<p>

The class waited for three minutes before the door opened and the teacher walked in. Katara felt her face dropping and her heart sinking all at once as she saw the blonde girl walking in after the substitute. A girl had dropped out a few weeks ago, she had been sitting right behind Katara. The substitute looked to Lydia, and them pointed to the seat behind Katara.

Lydia frowned briefly, but then smiled at Zuko, before sitting down behind Katara, next to some guy who was enveloped in the music from his iPod. Lydia leant forward to address Katara. "Why are _you_ here?"

She _wanted _to answer 'what are you talking about? I've been here for ages; why are _you _here in _my _class?' but, Katara ground her teeth momentarily, and found her calm to reply. "I'm not actually 'simpleminded'."

"Could have fooled me." Lydia scoffed a posh laugh.

Katara took a silent breath and thought of the one thing that calmed her down. _'terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll,' _the devil on one shoulder whispered in her ear, and she managed a tiny smile. "I bet a lot of things could do that." Katara retorted.

"Alright, class, settle down." The substitute woman calmed the class. "I have some news to share with you."

Katara suddenly gasped melodramatically, making the whole class turn their attention to her. "You're pregnant?" she yelled.

Laughter rippled over the class, but Katara was sure she heard none from behind her. "No, Miss Marina." The substitute snapped at her.

"Oh, come on, if this had been CBS, you **know** that's what you'd have said." Katara grinned in amusement. More laughter.

"However, Miss Marina, this is _not _CBS, and you _will _be attending detention after school." The substitute teacher gave a curt nod as if further making this clear to Katara.

"Oh, fuck." Katara groaned in annoyance.

"And tomorrow."

Katara sat up straighter. "Are you **shitting** me!" she exclaimed.

"And Friday. Are you done or do you want to continue?"

Katara stared at the woman for a long time before tossing her head defiantly. "I'm done." She snapped dryly, leaning back in her chair.

"Good. Anyway, class - it is my great pleasure to announce that henceforth I will be your permanent English teacher. Sadly, Mr. O'Leary has had to renounce his employment at the school due to medical reasons." The substitute woman announced seriously.

Katara felt her heart sinking just a little further. Just when she'd thought it couldn't sink any deeper. 'The Substitute Woman' now became Mrs. Donovan, the English teacher. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She would never survive. She actually _felt _the color draining from her face, and she was sure even that idiotic fool beside her could tell she suddenly felt like throwing up. She would never survive.

For the first time in a very long time, Katara considered the other way out. It scared her; the desperate need to escape by any means. She had felt that before, two days before she tried to kill herself. Not only was there no end in sight for this stupid teacher, but Zuko was going to pull that bullshit where he ignored everyone else to fuck about with a girlfriend. The carpet was being ripped out from under her and nobody was going to catch her.

She was astounded, elsewhere, with her mind staggering through jagged thoughts for the rest of the class. Donovan didn't seem to care; she had Katara in after-school detention for three days straight, and that's all she cared about. Katara was lucky she hadn't ended up in Saturday detention. Everyone in the school had one teacher that would stop at nothing to get them in trouble. Donovan seemed to be _that_ teacher for most people she taught.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, I never caught your name." Lydia met Zuko's pretty gold eyes with a cheerful smile, as they approached Zuko's bike.<p>

"Zuko." He smiled back. "Scorsese. Or evil spawn; I get that too." He joked flirtatiously.

Lydia laughed warmheartedly. "Aww, you can't _possibly_ be evil." She answered, taking a gentle hold of his arm. "Who calls you evil?"

"Uh … Katara." He shrugged slightly.

"Which one is that?" Lydia laughed at her own forgetfulness.

"She's the one who's 'seen it all'." Zuko drew his keys out of his pocket.

"Why does she call you evil spawn?" Lydia asked curiously.

"I don't know, we're kind of having a disagreement right now. She put me in a pretty awkward situation, and I still haven't forgiven her." Zuko replied in uncertainty.

"Oh, well." Lydia held his arm a little tighter before letting go for him to power up the bike.

Not out of sight, there was a window on the second floor that gave access from the room where that day's detention students were spending another hour. Katara Marina sat near this window, watching as her best friend, or at least the person who had been that to her, disappeared with a blonde devil holding onto him the same way she once had; arms around his solid muscles, hair in the wind, heart in the sky, and head in the clouds. Katara turned her head away from the window bitterly, tears threatening to prick at her eyes as she looked down at the desk in front of her.

She really was jealous. She was angry too; at herself. How could she have wasted so much time? That _other way out _was approaching like the ominous growl of something unknown in a dark cave. Katara was pulled out of her thought as Mai Tamesis suddenly sat down next to her, late for detention, but not as late as the detention attendant. She didn't say anything, but just being there was enough for Katara.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally! I've stopped myself on chapter ten, and I'm not allowing myself to write any more until ten is uploaded. I don't like being ahead of the readers. Reviews are sparse because FF is for some reason not moving the update to the front page. If this chapter hasn't moved it up, I swear I'll kill someone. Okay, here's the preview for next chapter. REVIEW!**

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><p><strong>Katara glanced at him briefly, as if to snap harshly at him, but instead she let her eyes fall back to the floor and nodded slowly. "Yeah." Her heavy eyelids fluttered once or twice as if she were about to pass out, but she managed to stay upright.<strong>

"Okay. I'm going to get a coffee. I'll see you downstairs."

Katara simply nodded. When Sokka returned, she was sitting on the floor, dressed, with her shoes in her hands, staring again at the floor. He tried not to think it, but he knew there was something wrong. He knew where this was from; this listless, lifeless, meek attempt she gave to getting up, out of bed and ready for school. He just couldn't bring himself to say it, or even think it.


	9. Flake

Sokka walked into the kitchen the next morning, expecting to see Katara watching the news as usual, however the room was as empty and desolate as the inside of Katie Price's head. He frowned, turning for the living room. He crossed the downstairs hall and peeked in. Katara was nowhere to be found. With a small sigh, he pushed his way up the stairs and walked toward Katara's bedroom. Maybe she'd overslept the alarm.

"Katara?" he asked carefully, walking into her bedroom.

She was a lump under the sheets, lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. Sokka's frown deepened as he stood over her.

"Did you hear the alarm?" he asked, a little bit annoyed.

Katara nodded consciously. She had been awake; she just hadn't seen the point of getting up. "Yeah." She answered in a tiny voice.

There was a long silence as Sokka tried to place the familiarity in her tone of voice. "Aren't you going to get up?"

Katara seemed to consider it as she sat up, her eyes fixed on the floor as she pulled her legs up to her chest. "Guess so." she brought her brows down. Just one more day of having to deal with … Katara couldn't even list her problems right now. She had to focus on getting dressed.

Sokka breathed a small sigh. "You okay?" he asked carefully.

Katara glanced at him briefly, as if to snap harshly at him, but instead she let her eyes fall back to the floor and nodded slowly. "Yeah." Her heavy eyelids fluttered once or twice as if she were about to pass out, but she managed to stay upright.

"Okay. I'm going to get a coffee. I'll see you downstairs."

Katara simply nodded. When Sokka returned, she was sitting on the floor, dressed, with her shoes in her hands, staring again at the floor. He tried not to think it, but he knew there was something wrong. He knew where this was from; this listless, lifeless, meek attempt she gave to getting up, out of bed and ready for school. He just couldn't bring himself to say it, or even think it.

* * *

><p>"Miss Marina!" Mr. Piandao smacked a ruler on the desk.<p>

Katara looked up, her head resting on one hand. "Yeah." She answered dully.

"Perhaps you could pay some attention." Piandao crossed his arms over his chest.

Katara nodded lethargically, blinking slowly. "Mm-hmm. Sorry, sir." She nodded, trying her best to keep her eyes open. Piandao turned back to the whiteboard and continued explaining the molecular build up of some green icky thing they'd had to dissect a few weeks ago.

Suki looked to Katara in concern. "Are you okay?" she whispered softly.

Katara nodded silently again, her eyes on the board, but her head elsewhere. She wasn't tired; she just couldn't keep her mind on any one thing for a period of time exceeding ten seconds. "I'm fine." She hadn't even been trying to whisper, but it had simply been words on a breath.

Suki pulled a face. "You don't look fine." She grimaced in worry. The girl next to her was never this down; never this disinterested. She looked to Piandao in thought. Katara wasn't learning anything right now anyway. "Mr. Piandao?" Suki raised her hand.

Piandao turned to look at Suki. He glanced again to Katara; even a stupid teacher like him knew something was up. "Yes, Suki?"

Katara looked to Suki in confusion. "Can I take Katara to the nurse's office?" Suki asked the teacher politely.

The girl to Suki's right shook her head. "Suki, I'm fine-,"

"You're not fine." Suki answered sideways, still looking at the teacher.

Piandao nodded sagely. "By all means." He gestured permissively to the door.

Suki stood up and gathered her books, putting them in her bag. Katara reluctantly did the same and followed her friend out of the class. As Katara saw the familiar door of the nurse's office approaching at the end of a long hall, Katara shook her head and stopped. "Look, Suki, I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I'm not going to see the fucking nurse."

Suki took an exasperated breath. "I'm not trying to prove anything, Katara. You're depressed."

Katara felt something inside her crack, like a breach in a dam. "I am _not_ depressed!" she snapped sharply. She'd worked so hard since the overdose not to be depressed. She couldn't be depressed; it wasn't fair! It wasn't fair for the depression to come back after all the fucking therapy, and doctors, and god knew what else she'd done to save herself from suicide.

"Bullshit, Katara. You're not just trying to lie to me; you're lying to yourself. Something is wrong, and it's making you depressed; so either you walk into that nurse's office, or you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you." Suki crossed her arms and met Katara's bombardier's eyes dead-on. Not many could withstand Katara's penetrating stare, but Suki was one of the few who could.

Katara lowered her eyes. If she walked into that nurse's office right now, she was going to be handed a bottle of antidepressants and be sent on her way. Suki was right; she was depressed and no amount of denial could change that fact. "Fine." Katara nodded submissively. "Come with me." She turned around and strode toward stairwell G; that fabled stairwell where Thomas Marx had been stabbed in the neck with a scissors.

They walked down into the flat of the stairwell and stopped. Katara turned around to face Suki, darkness in her eyes and seriousness in her voice as she reached behind her and took hold of a railing with both her hands. Suki stopped and crossed her arms; somehow, this situation with Katara overrode her fear of the bloodstain on the stairs. "Go on." she cleared her throat.

Katara took a tiny breath. "You can't repeat this to anyone, Suki."

Suki nodded. "You know I'm not blabbermouth."

"Not even to the others. _Especially, _not the others." Katara swallowed hard, her mouth becoming dry.

"Fine."

Katara groaned in frustration. "It's a bunch of things; my dad's seeing someone, that stupid English substitute is staying, and Zuko …" Katara bit her lip and shut her eyes. "I think I like Zuko."

Suki's hard expression softened. "Oh." She managed in surprise. _"Oh." _She repeated, this time more thoughtful.

"And he's running up that stupid blonde girl's ass now anyway. I mean, how could … I've known him for _years, _it took me this long to- I mean what kind of idiot ..." Katara trailed off and took a hand from the rail behind her to rub a temple with her fingertips. "Fuck." She whispered; it really was stupid. Everything.

Suki was frowning hard now. "Oh, Katara." He approached the younger girl and put a hand on her shoulder. Before she could say anything else, Katara had grasped onto her and pulled her into a hug, tight as a vice-grip. Suki could only hug the confused girl back, hoping she was helping in some way.

* * *

><p>Suki had purposefully gotten into detention that day, so she could be with Katara. They'd also spent lunch hour sitting in that fabled stairwell, eating twin pasta salads and sharing a bottle of soda, talking about the stupid English teacher. At 5:32pm, Katara and Suki sat in a diner-slash-ice-cream-parlor that went by the name of 'Vinny's'. Not too many months ago, the whole gang of them had sat here eating ice cream sodas with those funny straws that had spoons at the end, talking about the school performance Mr. O'Leary the English teacher was putting on, of Stephen King's 'Desperation'. Everyone had liked O'Leary. Everyone had been disappointed when he fell ill and the performance was cancelled.<p>

Katara was eating from a bowl of Rocky Road, and Suki was spooning in mouthfuls of Caramel Crunch-Monkey, which was a house special with tiny monkey-shaped wafers coated in chocolate. Suki must've choked on one of the monkeys when, past Katara, she saw Zuko and the blonde girl walking into the diner. Her eyes almost popped from her head, and Katara turned to look at what Suki was gawping at. She almost immediately turned around, and she scowled and looked back to her ice cream.

"What's going on?" Katara asked Suki, who was still watching, but being careful not to be seen.

"They're taking their seat." Suki answered, looking back to her ice cream. Two minutes went by before Suki looked up again and spoke. "He's ordering two of something."

"Ice cream soda." Katara muttered. Zuko had never liked the food here, so they wouldn't have come for food. They were here for the ice cream, and Zuko's favorite was vanilla with cola. Sometimes he'd put sprinkles in to see if he could manage it without choking. _Idiot, _Katara smiled inwardly. Her face didn't actually present the smile.

Suki suddenly looked down. "I think he saw me." She winced at the thought and began shoveling ice cream into her mouth; ice cream somehow always made everything better.

"Shit." Katara plucked a marshmallow out of her ice cream and popped it into her mouth. "Did he?"

Suki glanced back up. Zuko had gotten up and was walking over to them. Lydia was walking up behind him, and the waiter who was bringing them their ice cream had stopped in confusion, wondering whether to put it at their table to bring it to the table where Katara and Suki sat. Zuko approached the table.

"Hey, everyone missed you lunch time." Zuko addressed Suki specifically.

"I was helping Katara with some homework." Suki lied calmly and unflustered.

"Oh. Mind if we sit down?" Zuko requested amiably.

Suki glanced to Katara. "Uh … sure." She replied, with just a second's hesitation. It was only a second, but Zuko was smart enough to recognize the hesitation as he slid down into the booth, next to Katara. Lydia slid in next to Suki as her date motioned to the waiter to bring their ice creams.

Katara was also pretty smart. Smart enough to know this was supposed to be a date, and Zuko was only sitting down because he had no idea what to do on a date. If they had been friends as of yet, Zuko would've asked Katara for advice. That, however, was not the case. She also knew what the most unnerving thing that could happen on a date was.

She'd once gone to a McDonalds with Jet, where they'd accidentally bumped into Smellerbee, Longshot, Pipsqueak and The Duke. They'd all been talking about times they'd had a laugh, or things they'd done while they were drunk, and Katara had been left out.

As the waiter set the ice cream sodas down, Katara smirked at Zuko. "Sprinkles this time?" she laughed under her breath and poked her spoon into her own ice cream.

Zuko smiled briefly, but he didn't look at her. "Nah, I didn't feel like choking."

Katara recalled one time when Zuko had accidentally choked on four or five sprinkles at the same time and Toph had had to punch him in the back as hard as she could to keep him from choking to death. The sprinkles had coughed out of Zuko's mouth and hit Sokka in the forehead. She gave an accidental laugh. That had been hilarious. She'd been literally rolling on the floor laughing.

"Yeah, 'cause you still have a bruise where Toph punched you." Suki shook her head, smirking and tucking into her ice cream.

Zuko nodded and adjusted the straw in his own ice cream. He let the smile back onto his face. "And the sprinkles hit Sokka-," he trailed off and brought a hand to the side of his face.

Lydia was staring at her ice cream soda in confusion. "How am I supposed to eat this?" she glanced across the table to Zuko.

Before Zuko could tell her, Suki took it underhand. "You use the straw to get the soft ice cream, like a milkshake, and then use the spoon at the end to get the rest." Suki pointed to the dessert and explained. As Lydia tried to figure it out, Suki continued with a long breath and glanced from Zuko to Katara. "So what's the story with the Friday sleepover?"

Katara choked on a marshmallow and met Suki's gaze. "Suki, don't go there." She waved her hand as if waving Suki away from the subject.

"What? I just asked-,"

"Seriously, don't." Zuko agreed, toying with the straw in his ice cream some more.

Suki paused, as if unknowing. "_OH, _so _that's _what you fell out over."

"Shut **up**, Suki!" Katara hissed, kicking her in the shin under the table.

"Ow!" Suki yelped, before grinning. "Fine. If you don't tell me, I'm going to sing that Rebekka Black song." She widened her eyes deviously.

Zuko and Katara glanced at eachother briefly before saying at once; "You wouldn't."

Suki suddenly reached up and held her nose before nasally singing; _"It's Friday, Friday," _she didn't know the other lyrics, she'd only heard it once on a show called 'world's most annoying songs'.

"Cut it out!" Katara kicked Suki again, this time getting her in the ankle. She got her so hard her foot went back into the wooden bit under the booth chair. Zuko and Lydia heard the kick.

"_It's Friday, Friday-,"_

"Stop it!" Zuko snapped in annoyance.

"Fine!" Katara let her shoulders droop and lowered her head. Suki stopped singing immediately, Lydia perked up in devious curiosity, and Zuko glanced to Katara in disbelief.

"Are you _serious_?" he groaned.

"Well, it's better than the alternative." Katara pinched the bridge of her nose. "You want to start, or should I? 'Cause I might not remember as far back as you."

Zuko grunted and reached up, gripping some of his own hair in thought. "Katara went and got herself _shit-faced _on _Friday, _as you may know, because I borrowed _your _car to take her home."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that bit."

"I ended up crashing at her place, 'cause I was pretty fucked up too." Zuko lied, because he wasn't sure he wanted to state his compliance with Katara's need in front of a girl he was trying to date.

"Yeah, and then the next morning, we walked out into the hall and my dad thought we'd spent the night _boinking_. The end." Katara finished for him, still poking her ice cream disinterestedly.

"So what did you fall out over?" Lydia spoke up inquisitively.

Katara frowned first, but then she laughed. Zuko glared at her. "What _are _you laughing about?"

"Oh, come on, you know you laughed about it afterwards." Katara elbowed him playfully. Nobody had noticed that Lydia had finished her ice cream and was just listening in curiosity.

Zuko shook his head, biting back his own amusement. "So? I bet Rambo laughed about the Viet Nam war afterwards too. That doesn't make it okay."

Katara swallowed her laughter and sat up straight. _"Well, put some pants on!" _she feigned her father's voice, before burying her face in her hands. Suki fell apart, one arm flattening on the table as she sank her face into the crook of her own elbow, howling in laughter. Zuko shook his head and managed to pull one side of his mouth into a tiny smirk.

"Maybe it was a _little_ funny." He agreed halfheartedly, tucking into his ice cream soda. "But it was still fucking awkward." He frowned again.

"Yeah, but a Facebook kind of awkward. Like those 'the awkward moment where' thingies." Katara sat up straight and shook her head, before taking a mouthful of Rocky Road and finishing her bowl.

Zuko spooned the last of his ice cream into his mouth. "If that was on Facebook, and there was a 'dislike' button, I'd have a million accounts just to click it a million times."

"Oh, cheer up, Mr. Grumpy-pants." Katara smiled warmly at him.

Zuko made a face like this bothered him. "So what, you two going home now?" he changed the subject.

Katara sat up straight and shook her head. "Nope. We sent some old guy into Blockbusters to get us an eighteen-plus movie. You ever seen _Basic Instinct 2_?"

Zuko shuddered. "Don't watch it. It's a sick, sick movie. Mai made me watch it."

"Yeah, we're going over to Aang's, we're going to watch it with him and Toph." Suki explained. Aang lived with foster parents Lisa Bennett and Tricia Manning, and because they couldn't have any kids of their own, they adored Aang to the point of letting him do pretty much what he wanted. Aang had never actually learnt how his family had died. He'd known it was of political nature, but never the details. Toph pretty much lived there nowadays, and made jokes about his lesbian parents staring at her ass. "I saw the first one with Sokka last week."

"That sounds like fun." Lydia suddenly looked to Zuko pleadingly. Katara had ruined her date, and this was her opportunity to ruin Katara's evening.

Zuko pulled a face. "Would you guys mind if we tagged along?" he asked, discomfort apparent in his voice. Katara recognized the tone; he wanted them to say no so he wouldn't have to.

"It's pretty long … we're watching a bunch of other movies too, getting drunk, sleeping over, skipping school tomorrow …" Suki explained truthfully. She had neglected to tell Katara this, but she doubted Katara would care. "I don't know if you guys are up for that. I mean, we've already hijacked your date up 'til now." After all, the movie-night was her way of trying to cheer Katara up.

Lydia made a face, disappointed. "Oh. Alright." '_Awlroight, I'll just go home to my Mummy's terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll,' _Katara thought to herself humorously. "Well, I have an idea. You could come back to my house and we could watch a film or something?" she suggested to Zuko.

Katara felt her blood boil as Zuko agreed and they stood. She felt like that angry guardian-bear cyborg _Shardik_ in 'The Waste Lands', which had arrived a few days ago. Her hands had clenched into infant-like fists as she watched the blonde bimbo take Zuko's hand as they left, and her eyes had narrowed into slits so thin she looked like Gilbert Godfried.

"Don't make that face, Katara; you'll get wrinkles." Suki got up and opened her wallet, putting some notes down on the table. "Come on, let's go watch us a creepy movie."

"You know what that means, right?" Katara asked, her face softening as she stood up. "Them 'watching a film or something'? That's code for, _let's go 'snog' and 'shag'_."

"What?" Suki gave an incredulous laugh.

"I googled English terminology. Making out is 'snogging', and sex is 'shagging'." Katara shuddered.

"Eww. That's gross. It's like … romantic relationships can never be anything more than indecent and sleazy." Suki pulled a face, leading the way out of the ice cream parlor.

Katara shrugged up in the cold outside Vinny's, and zipped her jacket up a little bit higher. Suki got her keys out and unlocked her car, parked right outside the door. Katara thought for a moment, about Zuko. How had their relationship become so awkward? Maybe Toph had been right; it was a little bit like that movie 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'. Albeit, as Zuko had quite astutely explained, the sex. Not without sexual attraction, just without the sex.

She was probably right; Zuko and Lydia were probably going to spend half an hour watching a 'film', and then they'd end up tangled in each other and spend a few more hours fucking crazily. Katara felt bitter, resentful and sullen as this crossed her mind. She cursed herself yet again, for her blindness. She'd spent nights in his bed, years in his heart, and yet never quite seen him as anything more than a friend.

Somehow, despite all this awkwardness, she knew if Lydia ended up dead tonight, she'd be the one he called to help him hide the body. The years she'd spent in his heart would always give her that. It was a strange theory to their friendship, but it was something in the midst of all this madness.

She supposed there was only one way to stop needing him, and that was to find someone else. She now saw the logic behind her fathers escapade with the secretary, yes. But that didn't mean she forgave him for it. After all, he was an adult; he was a father of two, he'd found love once before, he was supposed to know better. She, however, was not. At fifteen, nobody told you 'act your age', or 'you should know better', because frankly, you _were_ acting your age, and you _didn't_ know better, and nobody expected otherwise.

And nobody expected you to know better than to go watch a psychological thriller while under the influence of alcohol, sleep over your friend's house and skip school the next day because of your hangover.

"Suki, I don't feel like a party." Katara told her friend, as she reached for the door of the car.

"You don't?" Suki buckled into her seat.

"No. I feel like going back to your house, watching 'Notting Hill', then listening to breakup music and painting each other's nails." Katara pulled open the passenger side door.

Suki considered this for a moment. "Sounds like a plan. I have 'Notting Hill' on DVD. Toph wants to see Basic Instinct_, _though, so we'll just drop that off, pick up some booze and head back to mine." She powered up the engine.

Katara nodded as she climbed in and buckled up, shutting the door. "Sounds like a plan."

She wasn't old enough to know better, but she did all the same. So they went back and watched 'Notting Hill', then somehow 'Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang', making fun of the accents out loud for a change, then listened to a whole bunch of old eighties songs whilst painting one another's toenails and knocking back gulps of vodka. Eventually, Katara left to walk home, humming 'Ain't No Sunshine' and stumbling every couple of steps, tripping on her own glittery-blue painted toes.

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><p><strong>AN: so, is y'all hatin' Lydia yet? NO? Oh, just wait. My father was a psychoanalyzed Narcissist, so I know how to write about one. They first come on very sweet and friendly. Let me give you my experience; my father was really nice to my mom, so the got married, but then when he saw things she did he didn't like, he'd point them out in other people and bash them. Like, 'lookit that hip-py with 'is stewpid jewelry an' clothes, liss'ning tw that sil-ly **_**mewzic, **_**parti-joio'. For those who don't understand welsh, 'parti' is party, 'joio' is the act of enjoying, so in Wales these two together can be used to bash anyone enjoying. Creepy, right? This place is a cesspool of narcissism. That and gossip. Because of all the hills, half the people here are valley-girls and the rest have their heads in the clouds.**

**Oh well, enough about me. Reviews are much appreciated!**

**Flake! Get it? Because of ice cream? Alright, then here's a preview from what I've written for the next chapter. It's the longest one yet and it's still not done...**

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" Donovan put her hands on her hips and gave Katara a look that screamed 'If I could I'd have you expelled because I don't like people who kick back'.<p>

Katara grunted in annoyance. _'Fuck it', _she thought, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "I've been in the bathroom knocking back aspirin, you self-important bitch." Katara spoke calmly, moving her hand from the bridge of her nose to her temple, trying to soothe her hangover.

She walked toward her spot next to Zuko, who, along with the rest of the class, was gawping at her. If she'd been standing beside herself, and she could've been, she'd also have been gawping. But, if she were standing beside herself, that would mean she'd be at least partially schizophrenic and that meant one half of her would be drunker than the other, so at least one of her wouldn't be able to stand. '_Whoa, Katara, that's some logic you got there.' _The devil on her shoulder whispered.

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><p><strong>Yup. So, REVIEWS will bring the the next chapter, that and me finishing it ... I'll have it done by tonight, so you guys can have it tomorrow, IF you're good. :) Click the button, people ...<strong>


	10. Galaxy

The next morning, everything went, as much as it could, back to normal. Katara was up before everyone else, made breakfast while watching the news, served breakfast as Sokka and her father came downstairs and sat down to eat with them. The silence was thick as a fog, but manageable.

"Oh, I won't be home until eight or nine tonight. I have a date." Hakoda explained awkwardly, as if it was just a 'pick up bread on the way' thing.

Sokka nodded through a mouthful. "Got it, Dad."

"Whatever." Katara mumbled into her cup of coffee, trying to keep her noise level down for the sake of her hangover.

"I've been noticing you staying out late, Katara. I understand if it's your way of getting back at me, but-,"

"You don't understand jack, dad." Katara snapped, her voice sharp as a razor.

Hakoda froze before replying. "I may not be in your good book, Katara, but I'm still your father and that's no way to speak to me. At least leave a god-damn message when you plan on staying out, I nearly called the police last night."

"Sokka knows where I am all the time." Katara waved some French toast on her fork for a moment before putting it in her mouth.

Hakoda believed this to be a bluff. He turned to Sokka. "Where was she last night?" his forearms rested on the edge of the table.

"Suki took her for ice cream, then they went back to Suki's and got drunk." Sokka shrugged in thought.

Katara smiled briefly, but bit her lip as a knife scraped on a plate and her hangover surged up. "Yup. So, I'm going to grab my bag, and then we can go." She addressed her brother, getting up and heading for the arch leading into the hallway.

"Got it." Sokka answered as she left. He glanced up from his food to see his father looking worriedly out the window. "What's up, dad?" he asked carefully.

"She's like your mother, you know. She can win an argument over what color the sky is." Hakoda pulled a face, staring at the rain falling on the windows. "But she's also too headstrong for her own good."

Sokka thought on this for a moment, leaning back in the kitchen chair and looking up at the ceiling. "It's a defense mechanism. It's like a shield she puts up to keep people from hurting her. I don't know if it's a good thing, but it works for her." He sighed, getting up and grabbing his rucksack of the back of his chair. "See you later Dad. Have fun on your date." He gave a curt wave, before disappearing out of the house, keys in hand.

* * *

><p>Katara's first lesson of the day was English. It was a wonder she'd managed to get up that morning knowing such a thing, or not to pull the tricks teenagers globally pulled; the coming in late and saying you had a doctor's appointment, or some shit like that. When she reached the lesson, she was late, having run to the bathroom to knock back some aspirin between homeroom and the lesson. She pushed the door of the classroom open and stepped two paces inside, opened her mouth to apologize for her tardiness, but was cut off before she could do so.<p>

"Miss Marina." Donovan turned to face her.

'_Fucking hell; if I don't put her in her fucking place, she's going to terrorize my English lessons all year.' _Katara thought to herself darkly.

"Where have you been?" Donovan put her hands on her hips and gave Katara a look that screamed 'If I could I'd have you expelled because I don't like people who kick back'.

Katara grunted in annoyance. _'Fuck it', _she thought, reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "I've been in the bathroom knocking back aspirin, you self-important bitch." Katara spoke calmly, moving her hand from the bridge of her nose to her temple, trying to soothe her hangover.

She walked toward her spot next to Zuko, who, along with the rest of the class, was gawping at her. If she'd been standing beside herself, and she could've been, she'd also have been gawping. But, if she were standing beside herself, that would mean she'd be at least partially schizophrenic and that meant one half of her would be drunker than the other, so at least one of her wouldn't be able to stand. '_Whoa, Katara, that's some logic you got there.' _The devil on her shoulder whispered.

Mrs. Donovan's fingers drummed against her rotund, fat belly as she pulled a face and glared at Katara. "Are you _drunk_, Miss Marina?" she seethed.

Katara scoffed a laugh and pushed her chair from the desk. "To a degree." She answered flatly. "Not as drunk as I'd like to be." She turned and sank into the chair, her bag falling to the floor limply.

"I'll be calling your parents." Donovan crossed her arms over her chest.

Katara smirked. "Unless you know the number for hell, I don't think you'll be able to do that."

Mrs. Donovan huffed a breath of irritation. "I've had just about enough of your antics, young lady."

"I was going to say the same thing, except for the 'young' bit." Katara answered disinterestedly, leaning down and opening her bag. Zuko elbowed her to stop, but she didn't.

"Miss Marina, I suspect you believe you are impervious to the authority of your elders due to your lack of authority at home. I'll schedule a parent-teacher meeting and contact social services if this continues." Mrs. Donovan said it out, in the lesson, with other students around, and approached her desk while writing a note on something.

Katara felt cold all of a sudden, goosebumps on her skin and outrage in her chest. She smacked her dry lips, glancing at Zuko to see if he too was surprised with the teacher's words. His eyes were wide, but his mouth was shut. Katara couldn't say the same for herself, or a few others in the class. "You know what I'm impervious to?" Katara crossed her arms in her seat and glared up at Mrs. Donovan. "I'm impervious to your bullshit." She seethed angrily. "And it has nothing to do with the _authority _I get at home." Katara exhaled carefully.

"Well then enlighten us as to why to feel the need to disrupt my English lessons." Donovan took her note from her desk and slipped it into her pocket.

Katara let a calculated caesura ensue, blue killer's eyes piercing into the teacher's. "Let me ask you a question, Mrs. Donovan. Have you ever seen someone you love get their brains shot out through the back of their head?" she licked the inside of her mouth; it had gone dry. Zuko felt his chest tighten, his hands clasping in tight fists beside his friend. His face turned for his eyes to fall on her. Darkness, like that of a demonic possession was eminent in her voice, her eyes were fixed on Donovan as if deciding how she'd like to see her die, and her face was calmed, expressionless and dangerous.

Donovan stared.

"Have you ever seen someone's forehead get ripped open by a bullet?" Katara's voice was a simple whisper, as deliberate as that of a serial killer.

Donovan paled.

"Have you ever seen a dead body fall to the ground?" Katara felt as if someone else had taken over her body, her voice and her mind. She was reminded of 'The Lady Of The Shadows', from The Dark Tower series; a schizophrenic woman who only remembered blanks of the _other's_ memory. "Heard the crack of a compromised skull on hard concrete?"

Donovan's fingers trembled.

"Now tell me, Mrs. Donovan; if you'd seen all that, do you honestly think you'd ever be afraid of being late to a lesson? Or give a shit if you _disrupt _someone's English lessons?"

Donovan fainted.

Fingers and hands and legs shook and trembled in the classroom, of those who _didn't _get up to see the teacher on the floor. Katara's killer eyes fell shut as she grabbed her bag from the floor. Oh, yes. She belonged here; Senior Advanced English was where she belonged. Katara had taken every person in the classroom to the alley where the girl's life had changed. They had smelt the smoking bullet, felt the racing heartbeat, screamed the girl's voice in their heads and watched the killer flee. Scarier than re-living that horrible day had been the voice in which she'd spoken. She'd never heard it before. She knew the words to be her own, but the tone … that voice was like that of a murderer.

Zuko watched as Katara seemed to regain control of herself. She stared at the teacher on the floor for a moment and clutched her bag to her chest, as if she were afraid that whatever had taken control of her would come back. She was on her feet, but barely. She would fall if she didn't move soon. He was sure he heard her whisper her own name and 'what did you do?', but that would have been madness.

Katara swallowed hard, more scared of herself than she'd ever been before. She gripped her bag tight as she left the room, eyes on her back as she did. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. It was only two steps out that she broke to a run, trying to flee from herself, the bag on her shoulder hitting against her legs as she did. Tears rolled from her eyes as she ran, and she burst around a corner and smacked into someone. She stumbled back a few steps, disoriented, looking for a face, tears rolling down her cheeks in upset.

A concerned face met hers. "What's going on?" they asked.

It was a teacher, a man. Katara ran around him and made for the stairwell where she and Suki had spent most of yesterday. At the bottom of this stairwell was a door the opened out into corridor F, and in that corridor was a door out into the rain, where Katara would stop and grab something to brace herself against, possibly a wall or something. Her eyes were hazy with tears, and her hands batted at her cheeks to dry them. When she finally got out into the rain, she was led back inside by the groundskeeper, and escorted to the Principal's office.

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><p>By lunch hour, Katara had been informed that she'd be having sessions with the school counselor every second lesson on Tuesdays and fourth lesson on Fridays. Coincidentally, that meant that Katara had spent an hour talking about birds with some guy she didn't know to keep off the subject of her mother's death. Plus, Katara was in a heap of other shit; they were considering dropping her back down into Junior Advanced English, or Senior Intermediate English, as well as the grudge Mrs. Donovan was going to harbor against her for making her faint in front of a classroom full of students.<p>

Among other things, now Sokka was going to know Katara had seen Kya get shot, and then so was Hakoda. That meant a whole other round of counseling. And Zuko and Lydia?

Bullshit was going to flare up like an asshole with explosive hemorrhoids.

Katara was walking down the side of the cafeteria, spying the table by the wall where her group of friends usually sat. Lydia was in her seat, Zuko was next to her, and they were holding hands. They were quite obviously a couple now. Toph, Aang, Sokka and Suki, on the other side of the table, were watching Katara.

Katara slunk like a cat toward the table, a dark look in her eyes and a dispassionate expression on her face. She looked pretty a lot of the time, but now she just looked like someone you didn't want to fuck with. She dropped her bag on the floor near them and approached the wall. She turned, leant against it and crossed her arms over her chest. "You guys are looking at me like I'm fucking crazy." She stated dryly.

Sokka was the first to speak. "Why didn't you tell us you were there?" he was calm and collected, his voice the quintessential personification of understanding.

"Because then I'd have been classed as a witness. I didn't see the guy's face, so there was no point." Katara answered coldly, shutting her eyes for a long blink.

Another long silence ensued. Lydia broke the silence. "I don't see why you felt the need to expel all that in the middle of a lesson."

Katara ground her teeth. "I was sick of Donovan. Sometimes a person has to do something stupid to achieve what they want. That's how America works." Katara snapped harshly, tightening her fists with crossed arms.

"That's exactly what it was. Stupid." Lydia answered disinterestedly. It hadn't sounded like a comment on the situation; it had sounded like an insult. Like when she was little and Sokka had said; 'be quiet, _Stupid, _mom's on the phone!'

Katara wanted to kick her in the face. "Whatever. I'm glad she fainted." She lied. She wasn't glad; she was terrified. "It's like, one triumph over ten defeats." She thought aloud. "If she makes my life hell until the end of the semester, at least I had this." She glanced from Suki, to Zuko, and then to Lydia. "Say what you want about it."

Suki sat up straight and turned to look at Katara. "You know what movie I feel like watching tonight?" she asked rhetorically. "Gone With The Wind."

Katara gave a small laugh, pulled from her seriousness. "Just sit up watching old movies." She thought aloud. "Like _Casablanca_, and _It's A Wonderful Life. _My mom's old collection has a ton of stuff like that. I can bring it over." She hadn't been afraid of watching her mom's old films. They were kept in a secret trunk under her parents' bed, and she always returned them to the trunk.

Suki nodded. "Drinks?"

"Soda." Katara corrected her friend; her liver had taken enough damage this week. "Company?"

Suki turned to Toph and Aang. "You guys want to join us for movie night?" Suki took a moment to think on the casualness of their inter-group friendships; they were so casual with eachother that any one of them could be counted upon for problems and guidance. And there was a knowing that none of them believed themselves to be any better or worse than each other.

They agreed at the same time Lydia spoke up. "What about us?" she yelped in annoyance. She'd practically injected herself into their group by dating Zuko, and they were still leaving her out? They couldn't leave her out, not Lydia; she was special, amazing, and individual. And much higher class than them. Perhaps they were afraid of inviting her in case of rejection, so she asked.

Suki glanced to Katara, who gave her a mischievous smirk, shut her eyes and offered a tiny nod. "You guys?" Suki added. The connections between the six of them, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Zuko, were so strong that they almost read one another's minds. This meant that by the mischievous smile and agreeing nod, Suki could tell that Katara was planning on having some fun tonight toying with Lydia's head.

Zuko and Lydia also agreed, and Katara drew her phone out of her pocket. "Great; everyone meet us at Suki's at eight. Bring sleeping bags. Suki and I will get the movies and snacks." Katara typed it all out on her phone as a memo. "And nobody brings Lionel Richie unless they want their ass kicked."

The others burst out in laughter. The last time they'd had a sleepover, which had been at Aang's, Aang and Toph had been having a fight, and Zuko had produced Lionel Richie on his phone, singing 'Hello'. That had led into them talking about the movie '40-year-old Virgin', which had led them to watching it and all standing up to sing the end song together.

* * *

><p>"Wow, Katara, your mom watched some great movies." Suki grabbed the bottom of the paper bag and turned it upside down. She plucked 'The Breakfast Club' up from the pile dumped out. "We have to watch this."<p>

"That's a chick-flick." Sokka grunted in annoyance.

Katara groaned. "I've seen it a million times." She reached for the snacks on the coffee table Suki had snatched from the living room and brought up to her bedroom. Suki smacked her hand, scolding her. Katara met Suki's eyes and jutted her bottom lip out like a toddler.

"No snacks 'til the others get here." Suki ordered firmly, looking back down to the pile of films and arranging them in a neat stack, before lifting the entire stack and placing it on the floor, beside her television stand. Her plasma screen would make this a great place to have a movie night. "It won't be long now." She glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was five minutes past eight o' clock. Needless to say, the people they hung around with were usually tardy.

"Yeah, no. Not long. Just a few years." Sokka thought aloud.

Katara nearly jumped when the doorbell rang and its signal echoed through the house. Suki got up and ran down the stairs. She turned into the front sitting room and pulled open the door to see their four guests all on the doorstep at once. Zuko held an aged rucksack with his sleeping bag sticking out of it, just stuffed in, Lydia held hers rolled up and held in such a way by the elastics on it. Aang's and Toph's were thrown over their shoulders, and none of them had brought any pajamas except for Lydia, who was wearing them under her clothes. Probably something her 'Mammy' had told her, Katara would've thought.

"You know where to go. I just have to get the drinks and cups from the kitchen." Suki left the door open and disappeared back into the house.

Katara and Sokka were trying to figure out how to turn the television on when the crowd assembled. Aang approached and dropped his sleeping bag on the floor. "You guys have it all wrong. You need to find the remote." He looked around. He whirled to see Zuko reaching for the floor and pulling a dusty-looking, black remote out from under Suki's large double bed.

He pressed a series of buttons in order and the television fizzed to life, the sound of white noise filling the room. "Plug in the DVD player." He loosened his grip on the remote. "Katara, catch." He instructed her across the room. As she turned, Zuko loosely projected the remote across the room, and it landed with a quiet smack into her hand. Her fingers curled around it briefly before she put it down on the television stand, in front of the TV.

Zuko thought briefly about her hands; they were small, dainty, and soft, he knew from the touch she offered at his woes, as comfort for his troubles. How nice they would feel against his cheek. They were just a little too small for Katara to comfortably wear gloves without having bulges at the ends. He recalled she'd once just taken to stuffing her hands in her friends' pockets a winter ago. Her hands had felt nice in his pocket. He shook off this thought, straightened and smiled at Lydia, taking her sleeping bag from her and adding it to the pile of sleeping bags growing on the floor.

"Alright, everyone, get comfortable. Sokka, shut the curtains." Suki instructed her sweetheart, before grabbing the dozens of decorative cushions on the bed and throwing them all to the floor. "Okay, before anything, we need to figure out sleeping arrangements. Everyone sort out your sleeping bags. Bed's mine."

Katara grabbed two from the closet in the corner of the room and tossed one to Sokka. Lydia began rolling hers out beside where Zuko had set his up, and beyond that, Aang had set his on the floor, spread open, and Toph had lain hers on top and folded back one corner of it as if it where a double bed. Everyone grasped for a cushion each and put it where they planned to keep their heads. Disregarding the sleeping bag, Sokka grabbed a cushion from the floor, put it on Suki's bed and grinned at his girlfriend.

Katara kicked her borrowed sleeping bag open near what had once been her best friend, who was lounging back in his makeshift bed and dropped down to her knees to straighten it on the soft carpet. She glanced at Zuko's pillow arrangement. He had three pillows stuffed under his head, and none were left on the floor for her to claim for the night. Her arm shot out like a cobra and she clasped the pillow right under his head, tugging it free and snatching it back into her grasp.

Zuko's head fell to the sleeping bag. He propped himself up on his elbows. "Hey!"

"Oh, come on, you had three. You still have more than me." She placed her new pillow where she planned to put her head when she went to sleep. "Oh." She glared at her sleeping spot. "Suki, you know that pile of movies-," something soft and plushy hit her in the face, and she could taste some synthetic fur on her tongue. "Right. Thanks." She plucked up the stuffed bear from its haphazard spot on the carpet and put it on the sleeping back, propped up against the pillow.

"I do not believe it." Zuko scoffed from his spot beside her, pulling himself up to sit and stare at the bear. "You _still_ sleep with a teddy bear?" he smiled. It was cute; in fact, adorable. He doubted she would ever lose her element of youth.

Katara blushed, just a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well …"

"I had one when I was little. I threw it away when I was three or something." Lydia interrupted her. "Some mangy-looking thing called _Scraps_." She added for a nostalgic effect.

"Scraps." Zuko turned to look at his girlfriend. "Who came up with _that_?" he laughed softly.

"I did. He was ugly, and smelly. And teddy bears are for babies." Lydia dismissed the conversation, a sharp tone at the end of her sentence.

Katara bit her lip and looked down at the bear. Maybe Lydia was right; why did she need Charlie anyhow? He wasn't young; she'd had him since she was a baby, he'd been larger than her at one time. Her mother had bought him when she'd been eight months pregnant with Katara. He was an abnormally large bear; Hakoda had been away on a trip to Japan for a corporate client, and Kya hadn't been in a state to travel, so Charlie had been her company, along with baby Sokka. Maybe Charlie was special to her because of his link to her mother.

One of his fake plastic eyes was dangling, and the bowtie he wore was in a sorry state. The only thing more special to Katara was a small chainless pendant her mother had left, of pretty, clouded glass, engraved with rolling waves above calmer currents. Katara hadn't yet worn it because she hadn't trusted herself with it. Glass broke, you see. And Katara hated wearing chains. They bothered her bosom; so Katara either wore pendants on black strings, or on chokers, occasionally. Katara wanted to wear the pendant on a choker, but she didn't have one. Her last one had gone missing at camp a year ago.

"Are we going to watch a film or sit around twiddling our toes?" Toph grabbed for the pile of movies and grasped 'Gone With The Wind'.

* * *

><p>After movies were done, they took it in turns to re-enact scenes from what they'd watched. As the others sat on the floor, Suki and Sokka, with one of Suki's old school bags in one hand and a pink, glittery party-purposed, plastic cowboy hat, approached the door out into the hallway. Suki adopted a high-pitched, panicked tone.<p>

"_Oh, but Rhett, what shall I do? Where shall I go?"_ she grasped hold of Sokka's arm.

Sokka tilted his hat up a little and pulled at the muscles of his upper lip as if trying to spontaneously grow a moustache. _"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."_ He adjusted his hold on the bag and pushed open the door out into the hall, slamming it on his way out.

Toph took it upon herself to cup her hands around her mouth to make her own echo chamber as she put on an Irish accent._ "Lahnd's the ounly thing wurth foightin' fer! Wurth doyin' fer! Becos' it's the __**ounly**__ thing tht' lahsts!" _she removed her hands from her mouth and beat out an applause for the two actors rejoining them from their spot near the door. "Bravo, you two. Now siddown' and let us show you how its done." She grabbed Aang by the wrist, having been whispering to him throughout their friends' performance.

Aang raised one hand to his throat and pressed on it, and in a raspy, deep voice, he began his line. _"Not with Miss Ellen's portieres, not while I got breath'n my body!"_

Toph screeched at him. _"Great __**balls**__ of fire! They're my portieres now!"_ she waved her arms in the air as if pulling the curtains down and wrapping herself in them. _"I'm going to Atlanta for that three-hundred dollars, and I've gotta go looking like a queen!" _Toph approached the vanity at the edge of Suki's room.

"_Oh yeah? Who's goan' with you?"_

"_I'm going alone."_ Toph answered snobbily.

"_Dat's what you think! I's goan' with you - with you and that new dress!"_ Aang put his free hand on his hip.

Toph paused and tilted her head to smile at him_. "Mammy, darling."_ She answered in a singsong voice.

"_No use to try'n sweet-talk me, Miss Scarlett, I knows you since I been put'na pair diapahs on yas! I say I's goan' wit'chu and goan' I is!"_ Aang finished, before removing his hand from his throat and swallowing the dry feeling in it. "Fuck, that hurts your throat." He coughed quickly, before taking a bow at their applause.

"Okay, now it's Katara's turn to do one." Toph chimed in.

"Uh, no." Katara held up her hands. "I'm not doing a one-man show."

"Zuko will do one with you." Sokka suggested.

"No I won't." Zuko answered quickly.

"Besides, which one would we do?" Katara scoffed a laugh and grabbed for the lamp on Suki's bedside table and flicked it on. Dim light flooded the darkened room.

They were silent for a while before Suki grinned thoughtfully. "Do the head-crusher scene. Where Rhett carries her up the stairs like Godzilla."

"She's heavy. And there are no stairs in here. Plus, Lydia hasn't done one." Zuko smiled at the blonde curled up at his side. He'd have described her pose as that of a cat in someone's lap, Katara would've described it as a viper waiting in the grass.

"I don't want to." Lydia answered simply, she stuck her nose in the air in thought. "I want to play Spin-The-Bottle."

Zuko cursed himself for even explaining to her what it was. She explained that she'd played it before, but under the name 'Truth-Or-Dare'. They both did the same thing, however one included a bottle and the other, quite self-proclaimed-ly so, did not. "Or we could call it a night." He suggested hopefully.

"Where's the fun in that?" Katara intercepted mischievously; this was her chance. Lydia was ill equipped for the game, and Katara had a poker face nobody could match. "I think that's a great idea, Lydia."

Lydia made a face of surprise. Of course, all her ideas were great, but this girl clearly didn't like her. She ruled it as a simple feat of logic; the girl had decided to give in to the fact that she was joining them, whether she liked it or not. "Alright, then. Do you have a bottle?" she glanced to Suki.

Suki reached under the bed and produced a large, empty, 660ml bottle that had one been home to the king of beers; Budweiser. "This should do."

"Jesus, Suki, do you just have a stash of empty beer bottles under there?" Aang gave a short laugh.

"Probably. I never clean when I'm drunk." Suki shrugged and put the bottle down in front of her. "Okay; everyone in a circle." She used her hands to form an imaginary circle around her. It soon became a reality, with her friends taking their places. "I get to go first, 'cause it's my house, my room, and my bottle." She grabbed a bare plate and slid it under the bottle so it could spin better, as it probably would spin as fast as a car with no wheels on the carpet. She first turned it so fast that it jumped off the plate and nearly hit Toph in the face, if not for her supreme catching skills. She tried again. It spun.

And it spun a little more.

It slowed at Sokka.

It stopped on Toph.

"Toph." Suki smirked deviously. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Toph grinned.

Suki thought for a moment. Toph would easily be able to hear things at her best, so possibly a sight-challenge would be fitting. Fuck it, she went for the traditional task; a physical challenge. "Take a punch to the arm from the strongest person here."

Toph raised one hand to punch herself.

"No. Other than you." Suki laughed. "Zuko, punch her in the arm." She motioned to him.

"Hard or-,"

"Have a guess, genius." Sokka interrupted.

Zuko reeled his arm back and his fist flew through the air toward Toph's upper arm. His knuckles jammed into her arm and she flinched in pain. She stared at her arm, afterward, before raising an eyebrow and looking at him questioningly. He had pulled the punch, at the right moment; so nobody could tell. Toph was thankful, because she knew he packed as mean a punch as she did when he was angry, or protective anyway, but the precision with which he managed it … Toph was impressed. She said so.

"Impressive." She nodded slowly. "My turn." She grabbed for the bottle and spun it skillfully. It spun fast for a long while before beginning to slow around Toph again.

It halted before Zuko. A grin split on Toph's face.

"Revenge." Toph bared her teeth in a devious grin. "Truth or dare, Sparky."

"Dare." Zuko answered boldly.

"Dare you to make out with Lydia. Right here, right now; make it official." Toph was on the edge of exploding with the screwball-ic nature of her dare.

"It couldn't really get more official." Lydia intercepted, referring to a now widespread knowledge of their escapade the prior night.

"Not according to us; we just see you holding hands and whispering. You chicken or something?" Aang chimed in with an equally roguish expression.

Katara raised a hand to one side of her face in dread. Her fore and middle fingers pressed against one of her temples. She glanced up to see the dare in action, before glancing back down and feeling her stomach and heart lurch in horror at the same time. She moved her hand from the side of her head to the bridge of her nose. "I thought we were mature enough not to need to do a dare that pointless."

"We are, but you're not." Suki noted, elbowing her friend.

As if things could get any worse. Katara turned her head to glare at Suki, her stomach sinking a little lower. "Shut up, Suki." She snapped quickly. The last thing she needed was to give Lydia more bullets to fire at her. According to the blonde, Katara was stupid for her scene in English, childish for her teddy bear, and now … _'FUCK.' _The devil on her shoulder kicked Katara in the neck. _'Strangle her. Strangle Suki, right now!'_

Lydia, who'd pulled away from Zuko now, felt her mouth fall open in surprise. "Hang on," she laughed mockingly. "You're a _virgin?_" she asked, almost accusingly. _'vuh-gin' _was what Katara heard, but she put two and two together.

Katara turned red and pinched the bridge of her nose again. "Thanks, Suki." She mumbled into her hand.

Suki pulled a face. "Oh. Sorry." She apologized.

Katara looked back up. "Yeah, I'm a virgin. Whatever." Katara dropped her hands into her lap. "It doesn't matter."

"'Course it does!" Lydia gave another patronizing laugh. "I mean, it explains, doesn't it?" she looked to Zuko as if for verification. If he'd had as strong a connection with her as he did with the others, she'd have known his look said 'stop. Don't go there'.

Katara rolled her eyes as if disinterested. "I know you're about to go on a rant about me being immature and childish, so I'll cut you off and say it's actually a mature decision not to do something stupid and jump into bed with any person who looks at me the right way. Not that you guys are slutty or anything; just that I have certain beliefs about what a persons first time should be like." she shrugged diplomatically. Yep. She'd done it; managed to unease Lydia and suggest that she herself had more class than the blonde girl. Now, she just had to wait for the reaction.

"And the Oscar goes to…" Toph announced dramatically, deepening her voice for the pretense. She resumed her regular tone, glancing at Zuko. "Okay, Sparky, spin-o el bot-tel-o."

Zuko shook his head with a small laugh and reeled the bottle expertly. It spun so fast it looked for a second like a simple brown blur, but it slowed eventually, near Katara, and stopped on Suki. He offered a mischievous laugh and leant forwards to settle the round. "Truth or Dare."

"Truth." Suki answered carefully; she didn't like the sound of his voice.

Zuko grinned even wider. "Ever made out with a member of the same sex as you?"

Suki bit her bottom lip and stared at him. "Are you serious?" she pulled a face, trying desperately to seem aloof, and pretend like he was mad.

"I'm dead serious. Have you?" Zuko's intense eye contact became steadily more uncomfortable.

Suki grunted in annoyance. "Once."

Zuko's mouth fell open; he hadn't been expecting it to be so easy from her. He'd suspected, but he'd also suspected he'd have to pry the truth out like a dead man's hand on a money sack. "No way." Lydia was also staring.

"Oh, my god." Toph stared, her mouth agape, but the corners twitched up.

"When? Where? WHY?" Sokka stared at his girlfriend as Aang and Katara simply exchanged knowing glances.

Suki raised a hand and massaged her tensed brow. "Me and Katara-,"

"_**YOU MADE OUT WITH MY SISTER?" **_Sokka screeched in disbelief, before glancing at Katara, and back to Suki.

"_No, _I didn't make out with _Katara_." Suki exhaled tensely. "Katara and I took Aang to that techno club downtown, and we started drinking, and after we were _really, _**really **drunk, Azula came up to us, and Mai and Ty Lee had taken off to go to some guy's band practice. She'd been on tequila all night, and **I** was drunk, and between boyfriends, so … I don't know, it was spur-of-the-moment…"

Everyone turned to stare at Zuko, who gawped in astonishment. He was petrified in horror. _**"YOU MADE OUT WITH MY SISTER?"**_

Suki shrugged as if it were nothing as Toph burst out in laughter, falling onto her back and clutching her stomach, howling. "Hey, I told you the truth." She answered solemnly as the others wiped away tear tracks of laughter.

Sokka sat up and stroked his chin in thought, never having laughed at all. "That sounds like it was really hot." He glanced to Suki. "Was it … did you like it?"

Zuko moved to get up, his hands turning into pincer shapes, ready to choke the Marina boy. Toph grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Chill, Sparky. I'm sure Katara wouldn't freak if you made out with Sokka. **Ooh!** I know what my next dare is."

Zuko glared at her for a moment before she changed her mind. It was a few moments before the others noticed Katara and Aang each covering their faces and laughing silently, shaking their heads in memory. "What are you two laughing about?" Zuko snapped sharply.

They just kept shaking their heads.

Suki frowned. "What's so funny?" she raised an eyebrow.

Katara managed to look up; her face was red. She opened her mouth to answer, but only shut it again and glanced to Aang for help. Aang was still shaking his head, but now making eye contact with Katara and saying with his expression 'no, you do it'.

"Guys, if you don't tell us what happened, I'm going to make you sleep in the back yard." Suki sat up a little straighter and glared from one to the other.

Aang exhaled heavily and nodded in submission. "Katara asked to borrow my phone, because her temporary one didn't have a camera. She took a picture."

The others all exclaimed in surprise, and Suki turned bright red. "You'd better have deleted it." She seethed.

Aang pulled a face that said 'sorry, no I didn't'. "Whoops …"

"Delete it. Right. Now." Suki glared at him.

Aang swallowed hard and reached into his pocket, before handing his gray Sony phone to Suki. "Here. You can do it." He smiled nervously.

Sokka suddenly heard his phone beep in his pocket, shortly before he heard two other blips. He swallowed hard; Katara had bluetoothed the picture to him, Toph and Zuko. They all grasped their phones, pressed 'accept' and stared at their screens. Suki wailed out at Katara, who was expertly navigating her cell phone behind her back, simply by her familiarity with it.

Suki tossed Aang's phone back to him bitterly and grabbed for the bottle, before spinning it and crossing her arms. It spun around twice, slowing and stopping at Lydia. She looked over the girl once or twice, thinking of a suitable truth or a feasible dare. "Truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Did you and Zuko bump uglies last night?" she asked, a smile slowly sporting onto her face.

Lydia looked to Zuko for permission. He gave a small nod and she replied with a proud smile. "Yes."

"Really? I had **no** _idea_." Toph spoke up sarcastically. "Okay, Blondie, spin the bottle."

Lydia wrapped claw-like fingers around the neck of the bottle and guided it slowly along a circular path, before letting it spin. Once. Twice. Thrice. It slowed around Zuko. It stopped pointing ominously at Katara. Katara bit her tongue, to keep from biting her lip; Lydia would've seen her bite her lip, and she couldn't let her know she was uneasy.

"Katara." She began menacingly. "Truth … or dare?" she asked it like the announcer of a game show.

The blue-eyed girl swallowed the dry feeling in her throat. She knew Lydia had to have had some suspicions about Katara's friendship with Zuko; to choose truth was dangerous; she had a large secret that she couldn't risk spilling. "Dare." She answered seriously. She immediately regretted it; this girl quite obviously disliked her enough to make her do something dangerous.

"I dare you … to …" she paused to think about it. It had to be something to make her uncomfortable; seriously uncomfortable. She had her suspicions that Katara liked Zuko as more than a friend; why else would she be so jealous, apart from the obvious reasons; everyone was jealous of her, and she knew it. But she knew Zuko couldn't possibly have the same feelings for Katara; he had Lydia! He loved her, obviously, not to mention how intimate they'd been the night prior-

"No. Truth." Katara corrected herself, her fingers taking hold of the fabric of her own shirt and twisting it in discomfort.

Lydia gave another short grin. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

Katara's face paled to a color so white, she doubted it was even documented. She looked to Zuko, whose face screamed he was cursing himself. Her face of hurt soon dissolved into bitterness and she looked away. "This game is stupid." She exhaled heavily, before twisting around and pushing open the sleeping bag she'd borrowed from Suki.

The others had fallen deadly silent.

"Maybe it's time we hit the sack." Aang suggested wisely, turning and grabbing for the sleeping bag set up he and Toph had put together.

"I think that's the best idea all night." Suki answered, pushing herself to her feet and climbing onto her bed. Sokka got up and joined her, simultaneously kicking off his shoes.

They lay in their spots for a moment, before Toph spoke up for a moment.

"Hey Sokka."

"Yeah, Toph?" he answered, just as Suki curled up to him.

"Who do you think would win in a fight? Blue Spirit or Sylvester Stallone?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"I think Blue Spirit could whip Rocky, but I think Rambo would give him a run for his money."

"That's what I thought." She yawned tiredly, cuddling up to Aang.

They all shut their eyes to go to sleep. Katara, however, lay on her side, her back turned to Zuko and the others, thinking. How could he have gone and told _her _about the one thing she'd neglected even to tell him for so long? _Him, _her best friend. It was a betrayal beyond comprehension; beyond words or actions. Possibly beyond forgiveness. Katara shut her eyes tightly, trying to block them out, and hugging Charlie as tight as she could.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whoa, this is one long chapter. Hope you liked it :) I would put in a preview for the next chapter, but I haven't even started it :\ REVIEW please; encouragement helps my thought process! Love you all!**

**Random piece of my life; uh ... i have a sheep in my bedroom. Yeah. My mom owns a farm, if you've read my profile you'd know, and we went up yesterday and saw this two-day old lamb next to its mother, who'd been killed and half-eaten by a walker's dog. This is why I hate walkers who go on your land. We tried to get the lamb to latch onto another ewe but they kept head-butting it. **

**She came home with us, we discovered she was a girl and I named her Pingu, after a childhood television show character. Pingu was a penguin with a seal as a best friend. Anyway, Pingu is my roommate now, and I got her to suck on the bottle too, by myself! It took her a while to get it. There are pictures of her on my facebook.**

**Look me up, she's so tiny! It's Hanna 'Rhi' Rhys, and I have a manga girl with blue hair as my profile picture.**

**Anyway, it's like I had a baby; she keeps waking me up for food, I'm running on fumes with sleep, so I rarely get time to write. I'll work on it when I can; theres no signal in my room and she likes me to be in there with her, so what else am I gonna do? I dropped out of school too, so its almost like I'm taking child development! :) Check her out on FB! REVIEW!**


	11. Curly Wurly

"Mom?" Katara asked carefully, her hand clutching her mother's dress tightly in a fist.

"Yeah, hon." Kya answered, distracted by the displays of jewelry in the glass display cases before her.

"What does love feel like?" Katara continued, looking up thoughtfully. "Is it a warm, fuzzy feeling? 'Cause that's what Sokka said and I don't think that would feel nice, so I don't think that's what love is."

Kya paused and looked down at her daughter. "You're right, Katara, it isn't. It's an excited feeling, right in your tummy, at the start, and then it's that tiny, proud smile you see on your father's face every time he sees me in the morning. You'll know it when you feel it." She smiled brightly. "Now, help me pick out Gran-Gran's birthday present. What color stone do you think would look best on her?"

Katara was silent for a little while. "Mom? Why did Uncle Bato say that love was painful?" she frowned in thought.

Kya shook her head. "It's only painful when it goes away. You love someone so much, that when they go away, when they can't be with you anymore, it hurts." She patted the top of her daughter's head. "Ooh, look at this one. Don't you think Gran-Gran would love it?" she pointed to a small heart of green emerald, white diamonds around it on a golden chain.

Katara got onto her tiptoes to look into the display case. "Gran-Gran likes silver. And Blue. I think she'd want that one." She pointed to a silver necklace with a royal blue raindrop sapphire stone in a silver cradle.

Kya smiled and nodded in agreement. "I think you're right." She looked up to the salesgirl. "Can I see the blue sapphire, please?"

* * *

><p>A flash of something blocked out Katara's view of the necklace. Something skin-colored; ugly and scarred with eyes so dark they could've been red and nobody would've known. A Latino man with dark black hair greased back and a classy moustache and beard, with his eyes narrowed into slits and his teeth bared, was holding the gun. His brows were tweezed, pulled down and furrowed. <em>"This is your fault." <em>His words echoed in Katara's head, a thick Spanish accent. She stared at his face in horror.

She threw herself up into a sitting position; breathing so fast she nearly choked on her own air. She gripped Charlie in one hand and the sleeping bag in the other. She looked around with crazy eyes for something familiar. She was in Suki's bedroom again, but everyone was gone.

"Suki?" she asked uneasily. "A-Aang?" she cursed her own unrest. She clutched the teddy bear in one hand and got to her feet, glancing around for something hard to hold in her other; something that would leave a dent in anyone who snuck up on her. Something like the ashtray Suki kept for Zuko, and when they got their hands on some dope. Really, when they had dope, they never put it out until their fingers were burning.

Her eyes danced across the room, dimly lit by the first remnants of sunrise splitting in rays across the room. She caught sight of the clock; it was nine AM. She thought for a moment, before remembering it was winter, and thus time was a little dodgy. She considered that ashtray again, but managed to silently make her way over the six empty sleeping spots, out the bedroom door and into the hallway.

"Guys, this isn't funny." She looked around again for another hard weapon.

She heard the echo of a voice downstairs; a gasp. Katara relaxed at the sound; it was Suki, in the living room.. She tossed Charlie back into Suki's room and jogged down the stairs and into the living room. The others were sat down in front of the television, their hands covering their mouths in horror. She glanced at the screen of the television.

A picture of Jin Territa was being shown on the screen, next to a girl with similarities, though not many. Katara frowned. "What's going on?" she sat on the coffee table.

"Shh!"

Katara's frown only deepened as she listened to the newswoman. _'Fifteen year old Jin Territa was abducted from her bedroom last night around two AM. Investigators found signs of struggle both in the room, and across the front yard. Skid marks from a vehicle were left outside the home. _

_On the left, you see Tamsin Wade, a thirteen-year-old girl who went missing two weeks ago from her home on the Dahlia Coast. Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been called in to investigate. _

_Speculations have been made as to whether the abductions are linked to a case closed a year ago in the case of seventeen young girls fitting Jin Territa's, and Tamsin Wade's descriptions.'_

Katara felt sick. She had to go see Jet; he had to be in pieces. She scanned the others, before her eyes settled on Zuko, who was leaning forward with his face resting on his hand, his mouth pressed into his palm. She wanted to be with him too; he was just as torn up as Jet probably was. But that was Lydia's job now. Katara looked about. Where _was_ Lydia?

"I need a drink." Zuko mumbled into his hand, before moving his hand up and rubbing at his eyes.

"Indeed you do, Sparky. Suki, get the man a bottle of the strongest stuff you got." Toph instructed her. "You'd _think _Lydia could've stayed a little while longer, considering _now _is the time she should be here." Toph patted Zuko on the back.

"Stop it." Zuko grunted out. "I'm sick of all this fighting."

'_Me too. But there's only going to be more now that that bitch knows I tried to kill myself, you stupid son of a bitch.' _Katara's eyes wandered hopelessly over her former best friend. He didn't need to hear that; he was hurting, and as much as she hurt for his betrayal, she still couldn't bring herself to snap at him right now. But she couldn't be here either. "I'm going to see Jin's family." She lied. "They must be distraught."

Aang looked up at Katara. "Well so is Zuko. You can't stay?"

Katara's hurt showed on her face for a moment, torn momentarily between her own wellbeing and that of her friend. "You guys have got this. I … I can't be here right now. I'll only make things worse."

Nobody answered her, so she walked out into the hallway and pushed her feet into her sneakers and tied them tight, before taking off for Jet's house.

* * *

><p>Katara knocked on the Jin's front door, her eyes fixed on the open window above. Scrape marks were evident on the wall below the window; Katara believed them to be from a ladder. The door opened and a teary-eyed, middle-aged woman appeared. Katara smiled briefly before her face fell back into worry. "Hi, Ms. Cartman. I can't believe … I mean, I spoke to Jin the other day."<p>

Jin's mother shook her head and sniffled. "Everyone keeps talking about her like she's dead." She raised a hand and wiped her eyes with the back of it.

"I can't imagine what you're going through. If you need anything, I'd be more than happy to lend a hand."

Ms. Cartman opened the door for Katara to come in. "Actually, there is something." She wiped at her face again. "My ex-husband is driving down from Los Angeles, he's asked me to pack Jin's things for her. He wants custody when … if they find her. I can't go into her room, it sounds silly but I can't."

Katara swallowed the lump in her throat. "If you want, I can do that for you."

"Would you? I would really appreciate it. Jet's been helping a lot, but he can't bring himself to even go up the stairs." she gestured into the kitchen, where Jet was sitting at the table with a cup of tea, his head resting on one hand.

Katara looked to him, her face twisting into discomfort. "Would you mind if I spoke to Jet before doing that?"

"Not at all. If you need me, I'll be in the study."

Katara nodded and made her way into the kitchen, pulling out a chair. "Hey." She looked down at Jet.

"Hey." He croaked, not looking up.

"How you bearing up?" she sat down and put a hand on his arm.

"You call this bearing up?" he scoffed bitterly. "We finally patched things up, you know. We even had a date on tonight."

"I can't imagine, Jet. This … all this is … it's horrible." She shook her head with a breath. "D'you talk to the cops?"

Jet nodded. "Yeah, that was fun." He answered sarcastically. "FBI got here about an hour after the cops. They didn't have jurisdiction, but the cops requested their help. They think this is a serial kidnapper."

"Whoa." Katara managed, pausing. She looked over Jet's face for a moment. "I think Jin would be grateful for you helping her mother."

"She will be. They're going to find her." Jet replied adamantly.

Katara took a moment to ponder on his reply. He really and truly cared for Jin, to the point that he couldn't handle even considering her death. Now she saw what her uncle Bato had meant when he said love was painful. She'd seen a tremendous change in Jet over the course of a few short weeks. He'd changed from the sex-driven idiot she'd always known, to an actual human being with emotions and feelings.

Katara patted him on the arm and got up to pack Jin's things. She didn't understand the logic behind her father's wanting custody, as if he could've prevented this from happening, but it wasn't her place to say anything. And it certainly wouldn't have been appropriate to take the point up with Jin's mother, who was distraught enough as it was.

* * *

><p>As Katara was zipping shut the bags of Jin's clothes, make-up, perfumes, teddy bears and other various knickknacks, Katara's phone began to growl out the song she'd chosen as Toph's ringtone. <em>'FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHATCHA TELL ME! FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHATCHA TELL ME! FUCK YOU I WON'T-' <em>Katara pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed the green button, bringing it to her ear.

"Hey Toph."

"_Hey, Sweetness. Uh, okay, so we're not at Suki's anymore; we're in town. You should get here, there's something you need to see." _Toph gave a short, nervous laugh. The same short, guilty laugh she'd offered when she'd started scamming drunkard gambling addicts in various bars and clubs to get some extra money. She still did it, sure, but she managed to moderate and be discreet.

"What do I need to see?" Katara asked suspiciously. "And why are you in town?"

"_Well, long story short, we decided in the end that Zuko shouldn't be drinking to get over his problems. So we took him out into town, and we met up with Lydia, thinking she would make him feel better."_

Katara exhaled. "Let me guess; she's got her panties in a knot because she can't stand him thinking of his ex."

"_Uh … kind of. I mean, you know that saying that a couple's first fight is the worst? Well, I think that's an understatement. Zuko's not even fighting back - it's just her ranting like a crazy psycho-bitch, and he's sitting there taking it. I need you here to hold me back, 'cause she's starting to piss me off now. I mean, first she's going off on you about Donovan, then she's calling you stupid, then she's asking you about the suicide attempt like it's any of her __**fucking **__business … I swear to god, I'll take the bitches head off." _Toph's voice became agitated and high-strung. Katara could tell her free hand was balled to a fist at her side.

Katara gave a sigh. "What are the others doing?"

"_Well, Sokka's standing around like a ghost, doing fuck all, Aang is trying to calm Lydia down, Suki's sitting next to Zuko trying to cheer him up … it's the fucking apocalypse here." _Toph didn't easily panic, so Katara knew something was really going on. She was a problem solver; she gave McGyver a run for his money.

"I knew she was a spider the second I saw her." Katara thought aloud. And she'd seen a fair few of spiders. By spiders, she meant blood-sucking, poisonous, partner-killing baby-eaters. In freshman year, Aang had dated this girl Meng, who'd grabbed hold of him, followed him everywhere and began to wedge between Aang and Toph, who'd had a relationship, at the time, similar to that between Katara and Zuko. Look where they'd gotten from there.

"_Can't believe I didn't see it too. Right, I gotta go. We're by that fountain in the center of the plaza. Get here soon, Sugar Queen, I can see things getting physical." _Toph swallowed, waiting for her friend's reply. Toph had seen so many fights that she was sure when one was about to begin by the way people started carrying themselves.

"Alright. Hang in there, Toph." Katara told her friend, before hanging up. Suddenly the voice from that morning whispered to her again.

'_I didn't want to hurt those people.' _Katara paused. She shook it off; she was probably daydreaming.

When she got to the center of the plaza, she saw Zuko sitting on it, with Suki next to him, with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and listening to Lydia, who was pacing before him, ranting colorfully, with Aang standing near, trying to calm her down. Sokka was on Zuko's other side now, silently watching Lydia in astonishment; she was saying some mean things. Toph was also near, standing two short yards from Lydia, with crossed arms and a hard, thoughtful expression on.

"Oh, well _look _who decided to join the fun!" Lydia glanced coldly at Katara. "Little Miss _Self Obsessed_!"

Katara scoffed a doubtful laugh. "I don't know why you're saying that; I don't see any mirrors around." She looked to Zuko. "What's going on?" she asked him.

Zuko shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm having a bad day."

"Maybe it's karma." Katara gave a curt nod to him, acknowledging and respectful. Zuko figured she was referring to his telling Lydia about her suicide attempt.

"Probably." He answered with an apologetic half-smile.

Katara was snapped back to the blonde by her annoying British voice. "I'm not self obsessed!" she whined out.

"Sure you are. You're not jealous over Zuko thinking of his ex; you're jealous 'cause he's not paying attention to _you _right now." Katara crossed her arms and glanced to Toph, who gave her a look that said 'if you hold her down, I'll do the rest'. "Just 'cause you're fucking him doesn't mean you can take him on a guilt trip without getting your face ripped off. We watch out for each other."

"Oh, I'm _**so**_ scared. You couldn't hurt me if you tried." Lydia snapped in hostility. "You don't even have it in you to hit me."

"Maybe not, but Toph over there would do just about anything to see you bleed right now, and she's a scrapper."

Lydia looked back to Toph, who was smirking. Toph cracked her knuckles readily. "You know it, sister." Toph looked to Aang, who was desperately trying to contain the situation.

Lydia looked to Zuko. "Are you just going to let them talk to me like this?" she squeaked in offense. He was just sitting there, letting them persecute her like she was some evil monster! Like _she_ was worse than _them_! Like they were above her! How _dare_ he just sit there?

Zuko seemed to think about this. Had he really been happy with Lydia? Lydia obviously had some issues he didn't have the time, patience or bullshit threshold to handle. "You know what? I think I am. We're done." He pulled the corners of his mouth up for the first time that day. He smiled.

Toph, Katara, Suki, Sokka and Aang all broke out in cheers. "Whoo! Go Sparky!" Toph yelled out, pumping her fist into the air. Sokka gave Zuko a pat on the back in approval; a guy could only handle so much and he knew this.

Lydia's face twisted in horror. She let out a frustrated, feral, vicious, growling scream of outrage. She charged for Zuko with her hands out to push him into the fountain and then drown him. Her feet pelted the stone floor as she ran at him, snarling like a hungry lion. Zuko's eyes widened as she drew near. He shoved Suki off the fountain and ducked to his right. Lydia's feet pushed her from the floor and she dove into the fountain.

Everyone jumped to their feet, turned and stared into the pond. Lydia had rolled onto her back and was staring up in confusion. Katara slapped one hand to her mouth in surprise, with a small gasp. She would've told herself not to, if she weren't such a good person, and the devil on her shoulder were not on vacation right now. She approached the fountain and offered her hand.

"Here." She pulled an apologetic face.

Toph approached too, with Aang beside her. Lydia grabbed Katara's hand, bitterly, and tugged herself to her feet. As she did so, she pulled her arm back and balled her fist up. Her face was still scrunched in hatred as she stepped over the bowl of the fountain. She pulled her hand out of Katara's and pushed the other from behind her, right into Katara's face.

Pain exploded in Katara's mouth; the girl's dainty-looking hands were actually rather boney and made for a hard punch. It hadn't been an extraordinarily skilled punch, but she'd caught Katara by surprise, and rage made a punch all the more powerful.

Katara went reeling back for a second, lost in confusion as her eyes danced about, before she toppled to the ground, clutching her jaw and forgetting all other parts of her body. Her back hit the floor with a dull thud that left her winded. Katara's eyes looked wildly about and she felt her fingernails digging into her own skin as her hands held her face in pain.

Zuko took a sharp breath and crowded over Katara with Aang, Suki and Sokka. "Holy shit." he heard someone mutter. He suddenly recognized his own voice.

Toph glanced at her friend on the ground, before her hand shot out from her side and grasped the fabric of Lydia's dress shirt. She tugged on the shirt to wake the girl up, bring her to reality; only a person out of their mind would fuck with one of Toph's people while Toph was actually there.

"You ever wondered what a knuckle sandwich tastes like?" she grunted out, before her free fist took off from its station at her side and flung through the air. It made contact with skin. Not the skin she'd hoped it would make contact with.

Lydia caught the fist in one hand and elbowed with the other, into Toph's ribs. "Ever wondered what class feels like?" she answered sharply in her snobby accent, between ragged breaths. She could feel Toph's hard knuckles in the palm of her hand, tensed so hard they were white.

"Class?" Toph tugged back her first punch from Lydia's grip and paused a moment to take notice of the bruising pain in her ribs. She drew a sharp breath and threw another fist, inhaling deeply. Her knuckles came hard into Lydia's eyebrow, but somehow the blonde managed to stay upright; possibly due to her thick skull. "Yeah, you're the picture of it." She finished sarcastically, with a raspy exhale.

Lydia growled out like an animal and threw her left arm in a vicious, tactless punch, trying desperately to catch the shorter, younger girl in the face. Toph ducked to her own left, and Lydia spun into tackling range. Toph bent low and performed a football tackle, right through Blondie's stomach. She shoved Lydia to the ground, arms and legs flailing everywhere, yelping and making uppity demands such as 'unhand me'. Toph panted as she pinned the girl down, taking a moment to consider what she really wanted; what she hoped to gain from winning this fight. What she really wanted was to never see Lydia again.

Lydia spat in her face, but Toph held her ground and got in a last punch in the stomach, before releasing the wet dog and barking at her as she stood. Lydia climbed to her feet and clutched her stomach for a while. Toph rubbed her wet hands together and wiped them on her jeans, gnashing her teeth by force of habit. She did that when she was exasperated.

"Beat it before I tear you a new asshole." she panted, before wiping the water from her arms, water that had come from the wet dog before her.

Lydia gave a savage grunt. "I was leaving anyway." She snapped, before turning and stalking away, dripping as people stared. One of her stilettos was floating in the water of the fountain, and she walked somewhat sideways as a result, with one foot smacking on the floor like the webbed foot of a duck on a tile. Toph managed a small smirk, before returning to her friends, disgustedly wiping at her face with the sleeve of her jacket. Zuko outstretched his hand to Katara, who was still cursing and hissing in pain.

"Fucking psycho!" Katara yelled out, her eyes opening wide and catching sight of the blue sky dotted with clouds as she came to terms with the pain in her face, kicking at the ground with one foot in outrage. Katara was _pissed. _One hand flew away from her jaw and caught Zuko's. "I swear to god, I'll fucking burn her house down around her." She wheezed out, letting him pull her to her feet. She took hold of his shoulder with one hand and leant against him, using her other hand to cradle her face. Her brows came down sharply, before she glared at Zuko. "You're an idiot, by the way." She mumbled through her hand.

"I know. Total blockhead." He agreed, tugging up one side of his mouth into a small smile. "Thanks. Yet again you've dug me out of the shit."

Suki cleared her throat with a small cough and crossed her arms over her stomach, just below the swell of her bosom. "Actually, Zuko; I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is '_sorry'._" She pushed her eyebrows up expectantly. Someone had to say something about his telling Lydia, a girl he'd known all of four days, about Katara's suicide attempt. She was sure had hadn't told Lydia about _his _suicide attempt.

Zuko's smile faded. She was right; he'd just been trying to find something to interest her. She'd been sitting in her bed with the sheets pulled over her chest, flicking through a book in boredom, after they'd gotten intimate. As he smoked a cigarette, he'd watched her, trying to begin a conversation. Nothing had worked, and so he'd resigned to just leaning back and breathing in his smoke, when she suddenly asked; 'what's up with that crazy Katara girl?' But still; it had been wrong for him to say.

"You're right, Suki." He gave a sigh. Suddenly, he frowned. "I'm sorry, Katara."

"I will consider your apology." Katara answered sagely, with a humorous smirk, ignoring the fading pain in her mouth.

"Thanks." he shook his head. "Do I do that _every _time I date someone? Turn into a dickhead?" he looked to the others, truly curious.

"YES." The others all exclaimed at once. Katara, however, didn't exclaim with them. She just smiled warmly at Zuko laughing at himself and vowing never to date again, enjoying holding onto him, with his arm around her. The smile was wiped off her face when the voice came back, harsh and terrified. She knew her own voice, and this was not it. He was yelling, on the verge of screaming. She felt his emotion. It was the same one she'd felt yesterday, when she'd made Mrs. Donovan faint; a Fear of Oneself.

'_Look where your HELP got me!' _the voice changed and distorted. _'Yes! Do it! Pull the trigger!' _It was the same man, Spanish, hoarse and haunted, she was sure; just in a more classy tone. It had to be the same man; there had only been one man there in that alley. She was sure of it.

Then again, she'd been sure she hadn't seen the shooter's face. Had the man been talking … to _himself_? Katara pulled away from the others and raised a hand to her temple. "I don't feel so good." She'd thought it aloud, unmeaning to say it to the others. She felt a headache coming on. What help had her mother been trying to give this man?

"Are you concussed?" Sokka asked in concern.

Katara shook her head. "No." No, she wasn't concussed. She was losing her mind. She had to be. For _fuck's _sake, she was hearing voices in her head! Seeing man she _knew _she hadn't ever seen. She'd _never _seen the shooter! She knew this for sure! Didn't she? Her mind raced; confusion in first place and doubt in second. Her eyes had been fixed on the gun. The _GUN. _And then on her mother's bleeding corpse. She'd never, NEVER seen the man's face, and that was the truth.

Her mixed thoughts reminded her of 'The Waste Lands'. After creating a paradox by saving the life of a boy he'd previously killed, Roland's mind had begun to split and fight itself over the two truths he knew to be true. There had been a boy, and that was the truth. But there hadn't, and that had been the truth too. He began to lose his mind.

She heard the gunshot. It exploded in her head, and she gripped Zuko's arm in one hand, trying to stay upright. It was no use, however, because her legs failed her as she saw her mother fall before her in her mind. She heard the weeping girl behind the crate, and at the same time, saw the shooter flee and stand fighting with himself.

Beyond the screams of her thirteen-year-old self, she heard Zuko shouting her name as she went down. Blackness consumed the world outside her body, and all that was left was the girl screaming at the body of her dead mother, with the split image of the shooter; one running away with money, and the other staring in horror at what he'd done. A thick fog of unconsciousness surrounded her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Some happiness, some twistiness … some 'POW RIGHT IN THE KISSER', and some mystery! Okay, so, I'll go through this from start to finish.**

**Ah, the first scene with Katara's mother in the jewelry shop. Well, I felt that Katara hadn't had enough flashbacks of her mother for us to get to feel her grief Katara does. I like how vague it is, how you're not quite sure how old she is in it. It's just a fugue of memory.**

**Next; waking up and going down to watch the news. Many people will wonder why I decided to kidnap Jin. Well, I'm not sure. I knew I wanted to; the vOiCeS told me to do it! Naw, I got somethin' big planned for yawl.**

**Next; Jin's house. Let's get this straight; I kinda like Jin, despite her being a distraction against ZUTARA. She struck me as a divorce kid. I also decided Jet would be there, because hey; you never forget your first crush. There was a deleted scene there, where Jin's father and his lawyer came in the house and Katara stood up for Jin's mom, but I cut it because it was unrealistic.**

**ALRIGHT, now for the BIGGIE! My fave things in this scene are all to do with Toph. Toph's ringtone is EPIC. Plus, I like the idea of threatening to tear someone a new asshole. I thought long and hard and discovered that if your new girlfriend started bitching to your friends, you'd think about your relationship. If she started bitching to YOU, you'd think a lot harder. Now, I was planning to drag out the Lydko ship to get on your tits, but I'm not that big of a sadist. Not right now, anyway. Realistically, that relationship wouldn't have lasted at all. Poor Zuzu had a bad day. I'm glad he and Katara made up, anyhow. She still has to get back at him for being a ditz though, and Lydia's not out of the woods just 'cause Toph PWNED her.**

**Not quite sure, after thinking about it. It's starting to get deeper than I'd planned. Thoughts?**

**Oh, btw, it's come to my attention that not many people have read Stephen King's Dark Tower series, so just forgive the references and imagine they're advertisements; Stephen King is NOT a horror writer, he's a comedy writer! Or maybe I'm just fucked up. But seriously, it's a great series. If you do happen to look into it, don't start from the first book, start from the second, 'The Drawing Of The Three', and then after you finish, go back to 'The Gunslinger', or not. I don't think I'll go back to read the first one. I might, but I'm not sure.**

**Ok, thanks for reading! Please please please please please REVIEW, I NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW!**


	12. Rolo

Katara's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was her new companion; the Spanish man that had killed her mother. She grimaced and blinked him away. His image was replaced by the darkened ceiling above her. She gave quiet moan in frustration. The man was whispering in her ear, almost so real she could feel his fuzzy mouth on her ear and his hot breath on her skin. _'He made me do it. It was him, all of it.' _The other man snapped at his companion, loud in Katara's ear. _'No it wasn't. It was you. You wanted to. You wanted all of it." _The weaker one gave a brief sob of confusion, and Katara was sure she'd soon feel his tears on her face. _'No! No! I didn't! I just wanted help!" _The leader, presumably, returned calmly. _'And I helped you. I helped you do what you really wanted."_

Katara grabbed a pillow from under her head and wrapped it around her head, before clamping it over her ears. "Go away. Just go away." She whispered gravely to them. "Leave me alone." she felt her fingers clutch the pillow tight to her ears, desperate for the men to leave her alone.

How was this even possible? She was sure there'd only been one man there that evening. And if there had been two, how come she only saw _one_ face? The voices cut through her mind like knives on the fresh, frail skin of a newborn.

"Katara!" Zuko's voice filled the room in a mixture of relief and concern, as he called out her name, turning from his spot on the other side of the room and letting surprise take over his face. Katara grunted out; why did he have to be so loud, when there were already two arguing voices in her head?

"Hey, you're finally awake." Suki gave a sigh of relief as the gang drew near to Katara, and looked down to see the blue eyes looking up at the ceiling, her face an expression of pure exhaustion. Like the one she saw on Zuko's house lady when he and Azula were fighting.

Katara let her fingers loosen on the pillow, letting it flop back under her head. She reached down and grasped the cool, crisp white duvet under her and hauled herself up into a sitting position in which she could feel just a little less vulnerable. "What happened? How long was I out? Why are the lights off?" her eyes darted from one person to another, looking for an explanation. "What time is it?" she looked to the walls for a clock. She recognized the room as Toph's; they must've taken her there because Toph lived closest to the plaza, in a three-floor Victorian built sometime in the eighteen hundreds.

"Relax Sugar Queen. You fainted in town, and you've been out for nearly three hours. The lights are out because we figured you might be light sensitive. Your eyes rolled back in your head." Toph gave a tiny shudder; she was sensitive about people's eyes because of the problems with her own, and had once tried to get her eyes to roll back the way boys had in elementary school to show off, and only ended up with sore eyes. "And you've got a doctor's appointment on Monday. We called your dad." She blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the light that Sokka flicked on.

Katara lifted a floppy hand and put delicate fingers against her temple. "I don't need to see a doctor." She brought her brows down and gave a tiny whimper as a headache came back. _'You're right.' _The skeptic devil on her shoulder elbowed her in the neck, with a sardonic, sadistic joke. _'You need to see the inside of a sanitarium.' _

"Oh, okay. So passing out in the middle of the day is normal for you." Aang spoke up, sounding possibly more sardonic than he'd meant to. He'd passed out spontaneously a few times before, but that had been during a state of insomnia in a long, grueling fight with denial.

Katara's frown deepened, and her eyes turned a darker shade of blue for a moment, where she thought she'd again become the girl that had made Mrs. Donovan faint. "What's that supposed to mean?" she seethed defensively.

"Nothing. I'm just saying, maybe you're sick or something." Aang raised his hands innocently.

"I'm fine." Katara's blue eyes poured into Aang's gray ones like tiny, icy pellets of hail through the sky, as she turned herself and pushed her legs off the edge of the bed.

Suki sat herself down on the mattress and looked in concern to Katara, reaching for the bottle of water on the floor. "Maybe there _is_ something wrong." She looked up into Katara's deep blue eyes. Her face asked if it was over Zuko.

Katara rolled her eyes. "It's not to do with that, Suki." She insisted, as she unscrewed the cap of the water bottle. In fact, she wished it were about Zuko. If this was all over Zuko, she could simply stuff it to the back of her mind, the way she had before.

"Not to do with what?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Nothing. It's something else. And I can handle both." She shut her eyes for a long, thoughtful blink, taking a sip of the water. Could she handle it? She was one person fighting two, two who had killed her mother, no matter what their companion said. The men who had ruined her life were residing in her head and the closest thing she'd come to peace had been when she'd been distracted from the voices by a fist to the jaw.

Katara glanced to Zuko for a moment. Even if she wanted to tell the others, Zuko couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut. And anyway, what would people say if she admitted to hearing voices in her head? They'd freak out and she'd be taken by those nice men in white coats, to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time, to the happy home, with trees and flowers and chirping birds and basket-weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes. Maybe they'd dope her up so heavy she wouldn't have to hear the voices anymore.

And what would happen if she went to the police and told them she'd seen the face of a man who'd killed her mother two years ago in Morocco? She could think of a million reasons for things they could've done. One, they could've made her take a Breathalyzer test. Two, they could claim they couldn't open a case that old. Three, they could claim they didn't even have jurisdiction. Besides, this could all just be her losing her mind due to mass consumption of alcohol, or due to her childhood trauma. She hated making excuses for herself.

"Are you going to tell us what _it _is?" Sokka crossed his arms expectantly. "You've been acting funny for a while now." He gave an exasperated yelp.

"No. I'm not." Katara answered calmly. The cool in her voice reminded her of the calm, deliberate companion of the panicky man who'd murdered her mother. She pushed herself to her feet and felt her unshod feet on the carpet. "Where are my shoes?" she looked around for her sneakers.

"Downstairs." Toph answered with a sigh that said 'okay, we can do this the hard way'. "But, until you tell us what's going on, you're not leaving." Toph crossed her arms over her chest and let her green eyes stare coldly at her friend. "And I hate to put you in a headlock, but I will."

Katara gave a small groan of inner duplicity. "Toph, it's on the same level as the kind of stuff _you _don't want to talk about, okay? Can we just leave it?" she took another sip from the water bottle, drinking slowly but hungrily.

"Nuh-uh, Katara. My stuff isn't a danger to my life. I know this town back to front, and if I ran away, it's no danger to myself or anyone else. You passing out is on a whole other _planet_. Are you _pregnant_?" she finally put it out there. That had been what she and Suki had considered; sure, she was supposedly a virgin, but Katara probably wouldn't have told them if she'd had her first time with a stranger; she'd be ashamed of it.

Katara choked on her water. She swallowed it and looked up to meet Toph's eyes. "No!" she yelled, stunned. She felt her eyes had widened in their sockets, and her eyebrows were so high they gave Everest a run for its money. "No, I am _not _pregnant!" she raised a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting her face fall back into plain anxiety. "Just _drop _it, guys." She grunted in frustration. "I'm not going to wave my problems around like a flag."

Zuko realized what she meant. She didn't trust everyone there not to tell other school members. He'd been surprised she'd forgiven him earlier, for such a douchey move on his part, but now he knew she hadn't. Well, she had, but she didn't trust him all the same. "I'll go." He gave a tiny sigh and stepped away from her, toward the door. "I can understand if you don't trust me anymore."

Katara met Zuko's golden gaze. "No. No, it's not just you. Sure, if the problem was something like a pregnancy, I _would_ tell everyone but you, but … Toph, can you take Zuko and Sokka somewhere else?" She turned to Toph pleadingly. Aang was the only one in the Gaang, besides Zuko and Katara, who'd ever suffered mental problems, and Suki … well, Suki she knew she could trust.

Aang had been drowning in insomnia for a short period after he'd learnt his family had been the victims of genocide, and then been seeing things from his childhood that he'd never seen before; one particular memory, of watching soldiers rip open a woman from armpit to hip with the blade on the end of his gun. The more Katara thought of all this, the more she realized how fucked up her group of friends were.

Toph needed no explanation as to why she needed to leave. She didn't handle people's problems very well, and she guessed Sokka couldn't be trusted not to tell Hakoda. "Sparky, Snoozles; come on, let's see if either of you can read my poker face." She grabbed a deck of cards with a rubber band around it, and a huge washed out jar of notes and coins. "I'll bet you my mom's china vase against the neat mask you've got in your-," Toph suddenly paused for a moment. _'Wait a minute." _Toph frowned in thought. The mask. That girl on the news had said it had fangs, right? And it was blue and white. Ozai was too old to be the Blue Spirit, and knew fuck all about swordplay, and Azula was a girl, so that left …

Zuko's eyes widened so much they nearly popped out of his head. His eyes darted around and he swallowed hard. Shit. Shit. In front of everyone, he was going to get figured out. Hang on; did Toph know the mask was blue? He momentarily tried to think what her actual seeing problems were; he knew colorblindness wasn't just a question of seeing in black and white.

"… In the sunroom. The African one; the one that looks like a Halloween mask." She finished as coolly as she could. The others hadn't even twigged that Toph had paused, being too concentrated on Katara. "Sokka, you go down to the dining room, set up and shuffle the deck. Sparky here is going to help me get a keg from the basement." She swerved around and tossed the deck of cards to Sokka, before approaching Sokka and handing over the jar of cash. "If any of my money is gone when I get back, I'll know."

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>YOU'RE <strong>_the Blue Spirit?" Toph shouted out, once they were deep enough into the basement for nobody to hear them from upstairs. Her mouth was dropped open and her pale green eyes were wide and staring. Her expression looked hard and reminded Zuko of the one his cousin had offered at the revelation.

Zuko's eyes narrowed, unyielding. "Yes." He answered simply, his hands at his sides and his expression just as hard as Toph's. He wasn't going to deny it the way he denied his affection for Katara. He felt his confidence sag; he'd managed not to think about Katara for a while. He had to tell someone, it was beginning to become a weight on his shoulders.

Toph's expression softened to a degree, from incredulity to simple surprise. "I can't **believe** it! I mean, I never even **considered** the Blue Spirit could be a high school student, I figured he was someone like **Bruce Wayne** or something. I should've seen it; you do the kendo thing, and that mask in your hallway … FUCK, man, this is-,"

"Shut up, Toph." Zuko snapped harshly. How could he have betrayed Katara like that? How could he have so callously sold Katara out? He wanted to punch himself. He wanted to ask Toph to take the big metal beer keg behind her and take a good swing with it at his head.

Toph was taken aback. She saw not the turning of the cogs in his head, nor the grinding of them. "Did you just tell me to-,"

"Yeah. I did. Stop talking about it like it's a hobby, just a fun pastime. It isn't. It's a full time obligation, and I spend **every** night I can from eight to two out keeping women from getting **raped**, and men from getting **murdered**, and children from getting **kidnapped**, and even **then** I can't stop the world's evils." He grunted out suddenly, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"I should've been able to keep Jin **safe**! I should be able to beat the **shit** out of my father!" Zuko grunted out and felt his muscles tense in his arms. Outrage pulsed in his head like the throbbing of the blood around a viper bite. He was angry with his father, angry with Lydia, angry with the man who'd taken Jin. More than all of them put together, he was angry with himself.

Toph stared in wonder. She wanted to reach out and hug him, but she couldn't move. She was petrified, as if encased in stone.

"I should be able to help _Katara_, but I can't because I **fucked** up with that **bitch** I only dated so I could _**stop **_thinking about those _**goddamn **_blue eyes!" his elbows bent and one fist went flying as he growled out, exploding into one of the stacked crates of the apples that grew in the orchard, and smashed a huge, gaping hole in it as said apples tumbled out to the floor. **"Damn it!"** he bellowed in frustration, his hands flattening over the edge of the crate as he pressed his forehead to it.

He suddenly pulled back from the crate, grabbed both sides and threw it to the floor. It smashed into hundreds of small wooden splinters.

"I can help people I'll _never_ see again, and all I can do is _hurt_ the people I love." He felt the trembling of the fists at his sides. He let his go of the balled up fists and stretched all his fingers out, before letting his hands fall limp. He was panting from his yells of inner turmoil, his uninjured eye had formed tears that he forbade to fall, and his mouth was shut again in a thin line, until he spoke again. "And I let Lydia hurt her without saying anything, because I knew Lydia knew it too. I didn't want her to say anything."

Toph's face softened into pity. Not a condescending type of pity; perhaps an empathetic one, a compassionate one. "Zuko." She spoke softly, for a change. "If that's how you feel … you should tell her."

Zuko shook his head. "I can't. Not now. Not after I betrayed her trust, after I let that monster whittle away at what happiness she has left after what she's gone through in her life." His eyes fell shut and the tear in his good eye finally rolled down his faultless porcelain cheek. "I couldn't expect someone as wonderful as her to ever love me the same."

Toph felt her stomach and heart twisting with sadness. It was so sad she wanted to cry, like the way (she would never admit) she cried at the end of The Hulk movie, where he just began to hitchhike his way out of the movie to some sad piece of music. Oh, god, if a song had been playing right now, like 'I'd Rather Be With You' by Joshua Radin, she'd be in pieces, bawling. She suddenly decided that if Zuko and Katara ever hooked up, that would have to be their song.

"I love her so much it hurts. It hurts that I can't go upstairs and hug her until whatever is bothering her goes away. It hurts. All of it hurts. And it scares the crap out of me that I love her that much." He let the tears flow silently and calmly as he reclaimed himself.

Toph gave a little sigh. "You've got it tough, Sparky." She looked to the beer keg and decided she didn't feel like drinking anymore. It would achieve nothing to be hungover tomorrow. "You can trust me with your secrets. You don't have to worry."

"I wish I could offer you the same courtesy." Zuko stood straighter and wiped at his face.

"I'm sure you could; now that the spider is out of your life."

"The what?"

"Never mind." Toph gave a short smile. "Come on, let's go see how much money we can cheat out of Sokka."

* * *

><p>"I never would've thought you liked Zuko. You guys are so casual with eachother." Aang thought aloud, his fingers toying with the zipper on his favorite yellow and blue arrow hoody. "Or at least, you used to be."<p>

"Hm." Katara answered, lying between him and Suki on Toph's bedroom floor, arms folded under her head with her ankles crossed over one another. "You guys think Lydia is done fucking around with us?"

"Not by a long shot." Suki gave a short, humorless laugh of thought. "She's totally out of her mind, and she has a vendetta against you particularly."

With a small sigh, Katara shut her eyes. "I'm tired." She gave a yawn of exhaustion. "I guess listening to people argue all day does that to a person."

"Now I know why your dad looks so old." Aang smiled humorously at the ceiling.

Katara felt her mind surge just a little more at the mention of her father. "Huh." She scoffed. The voices in her head were shouting again, but you wouldn't have known it watching her serenely staring up in nostalgia. _'Take her money and her jewels; this was just a random mugging." _The calm one instructed his compatriot. _'Oh, __**god**__! Wh- __**what**__ did you __**do**__?" _the panicked one shouted in terror. _'I did nothing. It was you." _Katara pulled herself up by the shag rug and shook her head. "I guess I'd better get home."

"You can't. We're all heading back into town later and grabbing a Pizza at Pizza Hut." Suki sat up also and ran her fingers through her hair. "Except for Zuko, he's going home; he said he just wanted to go home and pretend like this day never happened."

"I could go for that. I just want to go home and crawl under the covers." She grabbed the couch and tugged herself to her feet.

"Pepperoni makes everything better, though." Suki joked. "You'll enjoy."

Katara turned and leant against the chest of drawers by the window, her head turned to look out. "I don't know about that." She peered out and saw the frosty grass of Toph's mother's garden. The small duck pond was freezing over slowly, from the middle outward. "It looks like a blizzard is coming." She looked to the trees, which were swaying violently in the raging wind. The clouds swirled like a witch stirring her poisonous brew.

"How can you tell?"

"Basic snow doesn't come on this quickly." Katara thought aloud. "We won't make it to my house before it comes on heavy. We could make it to Zuko's." They couldn't stay at Toph's; her parents were away for a few weeks and had left her to her own devices, and she'd neglected to use the money they'd left for her to pay the gas bill. Therefore, when the snow came down hard, they would freeze if they stayed there. Zuko's was only a five-minute walk from Toph's house. "Yeah. Zuko's is our best bet." She thought aloud.

She led the way down the stairs and into the dining room, where Zuko, Sokka and Toph were playing poker. Suki and Aang immediately put their shoes on. Zuko's money had accumulated to a larger pile than those of Toph and Sokka, who had piles that looked about the same as one another.

Zuko looked up. "Hey." He spoke in surprise. "You okay?"

Katara remembered she hadn't wiped the tears from her face. "Oh." She raised a hand and wiped her cheeks. She gave a brief smile, as if trying to indicate that she was fine. She shook her head. "There's a blizzard on its way. We should get to your house if we don't want to freeze." She addressed Zuko specifically.

Zuko grimaced. "There's nowhere else to go?"

Katara shook her head in defeat. "It's the only place we'll make it to before the snow comes down hard. Temperature's already dropping; we need to get a move on." she turned around and put her hand on the doorframe. "Leave the cards and put your shoes on. There isn't any time to waste."

Her voice was serene and serious, on the verge of hopelessness. Zuko could tell she doubted they'd make it to his house. "How do you know we won't be warm enough here?"

Katara looked over her shoulder. "I never said that. The winds are going to come from the west; the only door to the outside world would be completely snowed in." she explained coldly, almost as cold as the expected snowfall. Toph exchanged glances with Aang, who shook his head as if to say 'it's complicated'.

Sokka tilted his head away from his hand of cards, putting down the ace of hearts and king of clubs. He could've won this hand if not for the two aces in Zuko's hand forming a three-of-a-kind, and Sokka having only a pair, or the straight in Toph's possession. His sister was serious, and stressed too. "Come on, guys." He got up.

* * *

><p>Zuko shoved shut the huge front door in the front ballroom and clacked the lock into place. They were all covered in melting snow that stuck in their hair and on their jumpers, completely ruffled up by the hurricane-like winds that had brewed as they begun the walk down the path to Zuko's house. The lights were all dimmed in the house, and the heating welcomed them as soon as they stepped foot in.<p>

"Senior Scorsese! Dónde has estado? Tu tío ha pedido doce veces para ver si llegaba a casa con seguridad! Usted podría haber muerto de frío por ahí!" Consuela descended down the stairs, grabbing the towel she had left on the banister and approaching the dark haired boy. "Senior Iroh is worried sick for you!" she exhaled in relief. "You could have caught your death out there!" she outstretched the towel to him.

"I know. We were at Toph's. It only came on heavy just now." He took the towel and dried the melting snow from his hair. "Thank you, Consuela." He handed her the towel back. She had one hand on her hip and one eyebrow raised.

"Don't you make excuses, now. You had better warm up." She shook her head. "Come, there is a fire in the fireplace, and you can call your uncle to tell him you are _alive_." She led the way to a large, dimmed sitting room with dozens of pillows and cushions thrown on the floor, and three girls sitting by the fire with marshmallows on kebab sticks.

Azula turned around to look at her brother, surprise on her face, but not much. "Ah. I thought you'd be dumb enough to stay out until it came on hard." She stood up and approached Zuko, outstretching the melted marshmallow to him. "You look like a wet dog, by the way."

Zuko gave a small yawn. "I imagined that's what I looked like." he raised a hand and ruffled his damp hair, before using his other hand to take the marshmallow from his sister. "What are you all doing here?" he looked to Mai and Ty Lee, who were standing up and crowding behind Azula.

"We were already here." Azula answered simply. "We'll be fine in the house as long as the power doesn't go off. It's an old house, the fuses aren't as modern as I'd like." Azula thought aloud. "Anyway, if the lights start flickering, send one of the butlers down to check it, will you?" she patted her brother's injured, but well healing shoulder lightly and passed him with her friends behind her. They greeted Zuko's friends half-heartedly, before heading up the grand staircase in what had once been a ballroom, but now was home to no ballroom dancing.

Zuko bit the marshmallow off his stick and dropped the stick to the bin just inside the door into the room. "Come on, Guys." He led them into the room and dropped down before the fireplace. He sat a few feet back from it, one leg outstretched and the other pulled loosely up, one hand resting on his raised knee. He watched the fire; it was strange how, despite what it had done to his face, fire was his favorite element. But really, it hadn't been the fire that had scarred him. It had been his father, and the fire was not to blame.

The others sat down before the fire too, basking in its warmth. "Oh, sweet heat." Sokka cooed, putting his hands out to the fire.

"Sokka! Don't do that, you'll burn yourself!" Katara grabbed one of his upper arms and tugged it away from the fire. "Idiot." She muttered.

Sokka frowned and pouted. "But it's freezing!"

"You'll get frostbite if you warm up too fast." Aang explained thoughtfully.

"Yeah!" Katara agreed sharply.

Sokka brought his hands back to his lap. "Fine." He grumbled.

"Aww, it's okay, Sokka. I'll keep you warm." Suki reached an arm behind her boyfriend and hugged him briefly.

Sokka curled up to her like a cat, causing the others to want to barf, though ultimately inspiring Toph to cuddle up to Aang. Katara looked to Zuko in thought. She imagined him with one arm around her, telling her everything would be okay. The others fell back onto the cushions and went to sleep within a half hour of them being there. She briefly sighed and pushed some pillows together on the floor, making a makeshift bed from them. She looked back to Zuko, whose head was hung in exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" she asked slowly.

Zuko looked over his shoulder. His golden, fire-lit eyes burnt with longing as they stared into hers. "Yeah." She managed.

"Really?" Katara scoffed in disbelief.

Zuko sighed heavily. "No." his eyes fell back on the floor. "I feel like a total jerk."

"That's because you are one." Katara answered calmly, with a lowlight of icy coldness in her tone.

Zuko turned himself around to face her. "You didn't really forgive me." He stated thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on hers.

"No. I tried to, but I couldn't." she replied simply, serious, grave and passively vexed. "You betrayed me, Zuko."

The golden-eyed boy looked down. "I'm sorry. It probably doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry."

Katara pulled her brows down, shutting her eyes as she spoke. "You can apologize as much as you want. Maybe my dad was right. Maybe you _are_ your father's son." She pushed the pillows on the floor together, readying them for her rest place.

Zuko's blood boiled as she said this, but he did not reply or argue. He knew she knew it was a low blow, but he understood she needed to get back at him a little bit for her to ever truly forgive him. "I'll leave you so you can sleep." He got up and left the room and approached the wall phone to call his uncle.

Katara stared into the fire. She wondered if she would ever be able to forgive him. Then, out of the blue, she heard her mother's voice instead of the gunmen's voices. _'Please! I'll do anything!" _she sobbed. Katara gripped her own arms and hugged herself tightly. She'd do anything too. She'd do anything to see the men who'd killed her mother have a bullet through the forehead. She'd do anything to see justice be done. She'd do anything to see them get what they deserved.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OMG it took soo long! I'm so sorry, guys; I'm running on fumes with the lamb; I go to bed at two AM, wake up at quarter to six and then my days consist of coffee-feed-coffee-feed-wash-walk-coffee. It's no excuse, though! I hate myself for putting a sheep before ZUTARA! I can't believe I'm 12 chapters in and there's still no rom-antics…**

**Okay, so to some reviews; I got a lot of reviews saying Katara forgave Zuko too easily. I agree. Anyway, I realized what I wanted to do with the story like, in an epiphany last night. I was like OMG OMG OMG THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO! YES! Funny that it came to me the day after I wished for my writers block to go away on a wishbone. That's weird, right? **

**Also, as I'm writing this, the track-pad on my laptop has stopped working so I've had to plug in a mouse. I think it's to do with the fact that my stupid brother stole my laptop the other day and had the cable looped up on the floor and I tripped on it. The laptop went tumbling to the floor, the screen is cracked so now there's a cracked screen, pointless track pad and no sound. I was gonna write life's a bitch right now, but instead I'll write 'my brother's a bitch'. It'll probably take more for the repairs than it cost for the laptop itself.**

**ASSHOLE. I HATE MY FUCKING RETARD BROTHER. ONE DAY IN HIS CARE AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS.**

**ARGH.**

**Okay, so what do you guys think of the chapter? Good? Bad? Filler? Okidokey, REVIEWS are love! And I happen to be needing a shitload of love right now! Oh, and btw I know Katara is excessively mean here, but it'll get more authentic by next chapter I promise!**


	13. Revels

A week passed like nobody's business. The heavy blanket of winter was still dominant over Dahlia Coast, and most people walked everywhere due to the treacherously icy roads, and the steepness of the hills and valleys in the area. Blizzards came every night around nine, and thus the nightlife was suffering.

Katara's Monday doctor's appointment had gone as she'd planned; she'd bullshitted him into thinking she was fine, just like she had everyone else. Everyone except her friends and her brother. And Zuko. Things had never been as awkward as this between Katara and Zuko. They hadn't spoken since the night of the first blizzard, other than a few sharp comments on Katara's part.

The Monday following her doctor's appointment, Katara hadn't even looked at Zuko.

The Tuesday after that, on break time after her counseling session, (this time talking about holiday locations instead of the actual issues) Katara slunk past their usual table, through that fabled stairwell G, up and into the corridor that was home to her locker. She methodically twisted the lock a few times before tugging the aged metal door open and retrieving her English book.

'_I'm so sorry, Doctor Marina. I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop him." _The weaker man, presumably the one with a face, sobbed.

Katara froze. Doctor? Her mother was a doctor? How had she not known this? She frowned into her locker. If she'd been a doctor, then her killer … "Was a patient." Katara spoke to herself, her eyes widening. The surprise on her face fell into determined anger. How could her father never have told her this? How could her mother never have mentioned what she did for a living?

She gave a tiny sigh; she didn't want to start on her father today; yesterday he had closed the case in which Jin's parents fought over custody, and Hakoda had rescued Jin from having to live with her father. She hadn't forgiven her father for his escapade with the secretary, but her anger was on hold for a little while. She drew her chemistry book out of her arms and put it back in her locket, before shutting the locker.

"Oh, well have a look at this." a familiar, snobbish, British girl cooed. "Morning, Katara. How are we doing?"

* * *

><p>Zuko's cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket as he bit into the chocolate chip cookie he'd stolen from Suki. While chewing, he drew the phone from his jeans pocket and glanced at the screen. A picture of his cousin was flashing on the screen and the words 'Lu Ten' were written beneath it. If he hadn't had silent mode on, 'Magic' by B.o.B. would have been playing; people called Lu Ten <em>magic-hands<em> because of his skills as a pianist.

"… So I told him to just _not _go there, you know, 'cause it was so-,"

"Shut up, Sokka." Zuko snapped, tapping his thumb into the green button on his phone and dropping the cookie to cover his other ear. "Hello?" he asked quickly.

"_Hey, kiddo; I just got sent out on Triage to a crime scene; warehouse in the seedy bit of town. FBI thinks Jin might be there. I called my dad; he's bringing your Blue Spirit stuff. I know you don't do daylight stuff, but this is urgent."_

Zuko paused. "Wait, what?" he was taken aback.

"_Just get your ass down to 42__nd__ and 13__th __Bornway, find my dad and get changed." _Lu Ten explained sharply, before hanging up.

Zuko shot up from his seat at their lunch table.

* * *

><p>Katara turned around and looked at Lydia. She'd left her alone so far. "What do <em>you<em> want?" she grimaced, her eyes looking aside as if disinterested.

"Oh, nothing much. I'd just like to know what's going on between you and Zuko." She raised a hand and inspected her nails.

"Nothing is _going on _between us. He's a bastard. That's about it." Katara sniped back, tightening her grip on the book in her arms and glaring dead-on into Lydia's green eyes.

"You're upset about him telling me."

"Yeah, whatever, Lydia. I don't care. Leave me the fuck alone." Katara turned her back to Lydia and began walking away, but was stopped when Lydia grabbed her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder, up the arm attached to the hand on her shoulder, and saw Lydia. "Get your fucking hand off me." She seethed slowly.

"Tell me what I want to know and I will." Her grip on Katara's shoulder tightened, and Katara seemed to get a little uncomfortable with the vice-like grip.

"What do you want to know?" Katara forced out, gritting her teeth.

"Why don't you know your place?" Lydia asked in a dark tone, digging her fingernails into Katara's bare shoulder. She felt one of them break the skin; it cultivated a bubble of hateful joy in her stomach. It felt better than it had ever been just sneaking into their group.

"Agh!" Katara jerked away. One of Lydia's long, hot-pink painted fingernails left a small cut in her shoulder. "You fucking psycho!" she yelled at Lydia, before turning and storming away, rubbing her shoulder sorely. "Fucking …" she trailed off with another exhale of disbelief. How could that girl be so fundamentally screwed up? She couldn't see that assault was a crime? What an idiot-

She looked up as a blur of red, black and skin came running past her, knocking into her. Running, their elbow knocked into her upper arm and she gave a brief grunt of surprise, before catching her breath and turning to watch them run. The red and black blur was a boy; a familiar one.

"Hey! Where's the fucking fire?" she yelled at Zuko, before taking off after him.

She finally caught up with him in the parking lot, as he was powering up his bike while taking out the helmet from under the seat. He was rushing, flustered; like he was running away from something. She imagined that's how she'd looked when she'd stormed out of Mrs. Donovan's classroom some week ago.

"Where are you going?" Katara snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest, with her English book dangling from one hand, her jacket from the other. It was freezing outside, but she was still hot from running after him.

"They think they found Jin. You can rat on me, or you can come with. Your choice." Zuko explained sharply, unwilling to waste time arguing with her right now, and his hand twisted on the handle. The bike let out a growl of anticipation.

Katara's book fell to the ground, her mouth fell open and her hard expression softened in surprise. "I'm coming with you." She tugged her jacket on and zipped it up as high as it would go.

Zuko outstretched the helmet to her as he swung one leg over the bike. "Well hurry, then!" He revved the bike's engine yet again. "We don't have all day!"

Katara tugged the helmet over her head and clipped it up, pinching her neck for a moment, but ultimately ignoring it. She climbed on and grabbed onto Zuko; not because he was her friend, but simply because she had to.

* * *

><p>The bike skidded on the ice and snow to a halt. Zuko and Katara climbed off opposite sides and stared. An aged wooden warehouse on the seedy side of town, with graffiti and various amorphous indiscernible stains on it, burnt before them. Sirens blared on all sides of the world, audible as a bullhorn from where they stood. Katara cursed her 'where's the fire' comment.<p>

Katara was mildly aware of fire trucks arriving at the scene, their operators manning large hoses and firing them at the flaming warehouse, and the dying blare of police cars stopping. Police officers by the tens arrived to smash in the door to save the life of Jin Territa, and possibly Tamsin Wade, if she wasn't already dead.

"Look! Up there!" someone's voice exploded in shock near Katara, surprising her out of her daze. She was suddenly aware of all the people running around and yelling and the monstrously loud crowd approaching behind her. Even through all this realization, she hadn't noticed Zuko had taken off long ago. The crackle of fire overpowered every other noise in the vicinity, like a giant stepping on the dry bones of long dead prey beneath his feet.

Katara looked first to the yelling man next to her; he was a young black police officer in the traditional dark blue uniform of the Tri-County Police Department, which had its headquarters situated in the heart of Dahlia Coast. His eyes were wide in surprise, a mixture of respect and worry on his face. Her cerulean eyes followed the direction in which his entire arm pointed.

Her eyes fixed on the black figure atop the flaming building, smashing in a skylight with his foot. Katara saw the mask, the swords. The hole in the shoulder of his garbs had been patched up. The Blue Spirit smashed open the skylight, leant down, grabbed hold of one of its edges and swung himself in.

"Careful not to get him with that hose!" one of the police yelled to the firemen operating the hoses. As much as people debated it on television, the police in the area knew he was a hero, made their jobs easier, and was the reason Dahlia Coast was the safest it had been for a very long time.

Inside the warehouse, The Blue Spirit's feet came to a solid landing on weakened wood that gave a groan of protest under his weight. He knew he was lucky to not have gone right through the upper level floor. A muffled shout rang out over the crackle of fire and he snapped his head to it, still steadying himself on the shuddering, trembling floor of the upper level. Was that Jin? Or that other girl, Tamsin? Or possibly … possibly the kidnapper himself? His footing shifted beneath him, and he took a step forward as it crumbled.

He sank through the floor, flailing, and his hands caught a beam as he fell. He managed to stop his fall and dropped down to the floor below. The sickening sound of a crash exploded around him as he was once again reminded of his own mortality, and the weakness of the structure above and around him. He looked to see a blocked door whining under the pressure of barging police officers.

The Blue Spirit approached the door and lifted the bar holding the door shut, before stepping out of the way. Most likely against regulations, the police entered the burning building, half of them at least, he guessed, tipping their hats to him or giving him an equally respectful gesture.

With ten police officers in the building, it was searched within a few short minutes. The Blue Spirit, coughing through the smoke, stumbled on a padlocked door as he heard a higher-ranking police officer yell from outside that the building wasn't going to last much longer. He drew his swords out; the padlock could've given his swords a run for their money, but the chain however, was a different story. It snapped as if a bolt cutter had spliced it apart, and then the door exploded open due to the force of the bottom of a boot smashing into it.

If he hadn't been prepared for the worst, he'd have puked. Jin lay before him on her stomach, her hands tied tight behind her back with some kind of fencing wire and her bare feet tied the same at the ankles. Her skin was marked here and there with shallow slashes from blades, and she wore nothing but a bloody, forest green, oversized t-shirt. She'd probably been wearing it when she'd gone missing. She was unconscious; and most likely glad to be so.

The Blue Spirit looked for something to cover her in. He caught sight of an aged old duster coat on a coat hook and grabbed it off the wall. The building creaked in its struggle against physics and gravity, as he pulled the covered girl up from the ground and put her over his shoulder. He carried her as fast as he could out of the smoke, into the snow. A police officer ran toward him, the same young black one Katara had seen pointing to the Blue Spirit.

The crowd surged in shock at the sight of the coughing hero, and the police struggled to hold them back as the Blue Spirit passed Jin into the police officer's arms. He caught sight of two police officers struggling to put out the fire on a trunk they'd hauled out of the warehouse. The blue fire of an accelerant burnt on it; who ever had tried to burn down this warehouse had begun with trying to burn that trunk. Whatever was in it was what Jin's kidnapper had to hide.

The Blue Spirit wanted to slash open the box, but instead choked out a ragged cough as he darted at the brick wall of the building beside the burning warehouse. He groped the ledge below a boarded up window and hauled himself up the wall, scaling the protruding bricks for a good four stories until he finally reached the roof and collapsed to his hands and knees, pulled his mask off and entered a coughing fit.

* * *

><p>By the end of the day, Zuko was right as rain. His cousin Lu Ten wouldn't allow him to leave the beach house, due to his wanting to 'monitor' him. Zuko continued to insist he was fine, and his lungs had taken worse; as he continually lit up cigarette after cigarette. Lu Ten had concluded his cousin was stressed due to the fact that not only was his friend and ex-girlfriend Jin currently in surgery and he wasn't allowed to be at the hospital because he was being 'monitored', but he'd been seen by no less than two hundred people in broad daylight today and his picture would be all over the news tomorrow morning.<p>

Well, not his, but the Blue Spirit's.

And then the mask could be recognized.

Lu Ten decided it was okay for Zuko to be stressed right about now. Zuko suddenly spoke up, sitting at the kitchen table, across from Lu Ten as he dealt out the final two card in their round of Texas Hold 'Em, and Iroh was brewing a fresh cup of chamomile tea for his nephew. "Hey, Uncle." He asked thoughtfully. "You know that mask was a gift for my mother?"

"I do, Zuko." Iroh replied genially, smiling nostalgically and stirring the tea.

"Do you think she'd know it was me if she saw the pictures?" Zuko asked carefully, his eyes settling on his cousin, whose poker face, though easier to read than his own or perhaps Katara's or Toph's, was hard to read when your mind was elsewhere. Think of such a thing; he took down that girls happened to have better poker faces than boys. Perhaps it was just because they got enough of looking smug outside of the game.

Iroh gave a short chuckle. "I do. And I believe she would be proud." Iroh looked aside in thought; Ursa had never been more proud of anyone than she'd been of Zuko. There had been this profoundly content look on her face every time Zuko had learnt to tie his shoe, or do his own tie, or flip a burger on a frying pan. Yes, that woman had been proud of him if he'd become a master criminal, proud for his skill at doing so.

"Do you think she'd come back?" Zuko's voice faltered just a little bit, hope in every syllable he spoke.

Iroh frowned sadly, just as his son did as he swiped up the bottle caps they were using as poker chips; he had collected them since he was six. "Your mother has always known you to be here, nephew. She keeps no contact with you or your sister out of fear of your father. I know this; we were once good friends." Iroh left out the fact that he'd actually introduced her to his brother.

This seemed to get Zuko down. He removed his cigarette from his mouth and took a breath of oxygen. It was always his father ruining things for him. It was his father's fault he never saw his mother. It was his father's fault half his face looked like barbeque chicken. It was his father's fault that he couldn't have his friends over unless his father was out of town or otherwise elsewhere. "Do you think my father will recognize the mask?"

"I highly doubt it." Iroh chortled. "But I would refrain from putting it back on the wall if I were you." He warned the boy.

"He'll notice if the wall is suddenly bare."

"I believe there is a different mask; an African one, in the sunroom. Am I correct?"

"Yeah?" Zuko answered in confusion, dealing out two cards to his cousin across the table.

"Replace the Blue Spirit mask with that. I would be surprised if your father had ever entered that room, for how pale he is." Iroh thought aloud. "Lu Ten, stop cheating." He added over his shoulder. "Empty those cards from your sleeve."

Zuko looked up to see Lu Ten staring at his father over his shoulder. "Why do you have to rat me out like that?" Lu Ten asked, amused and unbothered.

"Let the boy win. He has had a trying day."

Lu Ten groaned and tilted his elbow up, letting six aces, five kings and three queens fall out of his sleeve. Perhaps he had collected more than just bottle caps over the course of his life. Magic hands and tricky sleeves, Lu Ten continued the game.

Elsewhere, Katara sat in the waiting room in the hospital, confused as to where Jin's mother was. This gave her some time to think about her problem with Zuko. She wanted to forgive him. She wanted to be able to forgive him. She wanted to understand what kind of person sells out their supposed best friend.

She had to have waited for a good three hours before Ms. Cartman, whose name she'd learnt was Lyn, came to the waiting room and collapsed beside Katara. "I'm a terrible mother." She breathed in defeat as she sank into the seat. She'd spent the last few hours doing paperwork, putting down her details and things of the sort.

"No you're not. This could've happened to anyone's child." Katara reached out and put a hand on Lyn's shoulder.

"No. Not that. I know that's not my fault. I failed to renew my HMO; I'll be receiving a bill for seven thousand dollars worth of surgery. And I'll have to sell my house to pay for it, and uproot my daughter's life even more … god help me." Lyn leant forward and put one hand to her face. "Not to mention your father's litigators fee."

Katara drew in a small breath of shock. "You … don't worry about that. I'll talk to my father, you can have as long as you want to pay it, and-,"

"I am already in thirty thousand dollars of debt, Katara. I had to pay my ex-husband out twenty thousand, and the rest was legal fees because he dragged it out for four years trying to get my house. I understand you're trying to help, but … I don't see what I'm going to do."

Katara frowned. She needed to get Lyn that money, and this time, pictures of the Blue Spirit wouldn't cut it.

* * *

><p>The Blue Spirit thanked god for people and their love of skylights. Below him, a locks-expert was undoing the fastenings on the box that had been drawn out of the burning warehouse. It finally clacked open and he lifted the top for the surrounding FBI agents could peer into it. They drew out water-damaged photographs. The Blue Spirit struggled to get a good look over their obnoxiously larg heads. They pulled away and began categorizing the photographs.<p>

A small pile grew of pictures of Jin Territa, some taken before her kidnapping, though most taken after. They made The Blue Spirit feel sick; there were pictures of Jin's legs spread wide, doused in blood, and pictures of the girl naked, unconsciously lying on a blood-soaked blanket on the floor.

Another pile grew of the Tamsin Wade, in her home, in her bathroom, in the same warehouse they'd found Jin in. In the same condition.

Various other small piles grew of other girls, long closed cases of kidnap; all tanned with dark hair, most with ... The Blue Spirit caught sight of the photographs at the very bottom of the trunk. Blue Eyes. Katara Marina was shown in all aspects of life; sitting in her bedroom reading, undressing to take a shower, making a morning coffee, sleeping, walking with her brother to school, riding on the back of _his _motorbike, with _him _in the frame.

None were shown of her in any warehouse. She was next.

* * *

><p>Katara admired her reflection in a skylight below her. Her mirror image showed a girl with a short-sleeved black turtleneck sweater, black leather pants she'd come into possession of after Suki had outgrown them, black leather biker gloves and black, lace-up, mid-calf height boots. Her favorite part, however, was her head. She kind of felt like Catwoman, with a painted porcelain Venetian half-mask she'd found in that big trunk under her parents' bed.<p>

It was a pure white mask; with red paint markings, most likely tribal. A red, crescent moon adorned the forehead, and tendrils of scarlet snaked into the cheeks, just below her eyes. Her hair was tied into high ponytail at the back of her head, and whatever bangs wouldn't stay back fell in front of the mask. She cursed this; it was just another thing to make her recognizable. Then again, she never tied her hair back, especially not that tight or high. She doubted anyone would recognize her as she was.

From her spot atop some high-class, condominium apartment building, Katara surveyed the Jewelry store opposite. She pulled herself from admiring her image; this was a one-time thing. She wasn't going to make this a habit. She wasn't a criminal like the men who'd killed her mother; this was for a good cause. She was sure there was seven thousand dollars in that bank. It wasn't her place to pay off Lyn's legal fees, but the money for Jin's surgery was something any good person with the means would give. Jin's mother shouldn't have had to pay the damage of Jin's ordeal.

She waited for a long half hour until she picked her moment. She desperately hoped she remembered what she'd learnt in the self-defense lessons her father had taken her and Sokka to after her mother's death. She clambered to the top of the building and quickly surged to the blind spot she'd learnt of during a case in which her father had defended a robber who'd robbed this very store. If she did this right, the only thing that would be a problem would be the camera as she fled. Her father's client had been convicted due to the camera catching his face on the way out.

Katara didn't have to worry about this.

She did worry, however, that security may have been upped. She knew the store was running low on funding, though, and they only had enough money to hire a single night watchman, and couldn't pay the security guards' wages for nighttime shifts. Once she took out the watchman, she'd be home free. She took a moment to think back. This was the same store where several years ago, she's asked her mother about love. The irony of it was strange. It was sad how a once great jewelry store was now the last place anyone went to get their loved ones presents.

Katara pried open the vent grill and placed it aside, sliding into the air duct. She rolled onto her stomach and shuffled along the constricted shaft, before she came to where the vent opened into the store. She grinned to herself; the display jewelry was all still there. She popped open the second grill and pulled it into the shaft, placing it on the other side of the drop down into the store. Her leather-clad hands surged forward and she gripped the vent edge.

She was lucky to be light, she thought to herself. The voices seemed to cease as she concentrated on her mission. She pulled herself a little forward and dropped her feet down into the store. Her arms struggled a little bit as she lowered herself down. The leather trousers made a small sound of protest, but she finally dropped to the ground without a hitch.

"Ah! Uh … stop where you are!" that night watchman yelled in confusion.

Katara froze. Shit.

The watchman appeared behind her, gun drawn. He stopped for a moment to take in the slim girl before him. She was shorter than him, with slender, bare arms and leather trousers that exaggerated the amazing ass she already had. Katara turned to face the watchman, raising her hands as she thought. He was white, dark-haired, with grayish eyes. He bore the stubble of a man too lazy to shave every day. '_Roundhouse. Roundhouse kick, Katara.' _The devil and angel on her shoulders were linked arm-in-arm, working together for the money for Jin. _'Get him in the jaw once he puts his gun away.'_

"You're just a girl." The watchman scoffed in disbelief.

Katara frowned at him. He couldn't tell.

His gun fell loose in his hand, and he tucked it into his belt as if he were a hotshot. "But what a girl you are." She heard him whispering to himself. "I could let you off the hook for a favor, missy." He began, putting both hands on the hips of his belt. "Put them pretty lips'a yours to good use."

She cursed herself for the red lipstick, in some far away corner of her mind. More importantly, more actively in her mind, her blood boiled in shock. Her knee flicked up from the floor and her foot went from there upward. The boot smashed into the jaw of the man before her, and she heard his teeth clack together, crack and break. The man's hand raced to his face and he reached back to his holster with the other.

She was too quick for him. She dived toward him and grabbed his arm away from his holster, simultaneously pulling the gun free of his hip. She thumped the butt of the gun into the back of his skull, rendering him unconscious. He sank to the cream-carpeted store floor, just a little bit of blood coming from his mouth. Katara took a look at the gun in her hand. If she left it … well, there were no consequences for leaving it; she was wearing leather gloves (that didn't quite fit properly). But she wanted the gun. She tucked it into the back of them leather pants.

Her elbow delved into one of the display cases as her other hand drew a velvet pouch she'd gotten for Christmas from her pocket. The glass smashed away from the gold and silver it protected as she snatched it all up with one hand and began shoveling it into the pouch. The alarms began to blare out and she hissed under her breath. "Fuck." She smashed open another display case; one with engagement rings in it. Into the pouch they went.

She was sure she already had seven thousand dollars in the pouch, but she had to be sure. She elbowed open another display case and grabbed up the necklaces and bracelets, shoving them into the pouch she held at her hip. The pouch began to weigh heavy.

She knew the record time for a police response to a 211A (robbery alarm) in Dahlia Coast was five minutes and thirty four seconds. And that meant that by now, she had about three minutes left. The hoarse, ominous sound of someone clearing their throat filled the space between Katara and her escape route. She looked up to see the Blue Spirit with his arms crossed over his chest. She exhaled in disbelief. Could this go any worse? She tied the pouch of jewelry to her belt.

It was then that Katara realized neither she or the Blue Spirit could speak without fear of their voices being recognized. _Shit. _She groaned inwardly. _'Okay, girl. Minor setback. It's time to see who's gonna win this fight.' _The devil on her shoulder nudged her supportively. _'Yeah, Katara. This is for a good cause.' _The angel agreed. Katara realized just how many people there were telling her what to do in her life.

Katara simply steadied herself into a fighting stance ten feet from the Blue Spirit. _Bring it, buddy boy._

The Blue Spirit took four casual steps toward her and entered his own; simple and unabashed, like those of sparring matches within a dojo. Katara pushed a punch through the air at his masked face, but he moved aside, out of its path. Katara frowned in disappointment, tossing another punch that he expertly dodged. She heard him exhale a single laugh under his mask.

Katara's brows came down under her mask. He was _laughing _at her? She gave a vicious grunt of desperation and grabbed both of his shoulders, swinging one leg past him and hooking it behind one of his. She pulled it back and swept his legs out from under him. He fell back, knocking over a freestanding display of jewelry. Katara thanked Toph for teaching her that one.

He was momentarily winded, but jumped to his feet again, entering his stance again. He threw a left hook, and she pushed it aside with one hand, to punch him in the side; in the ribs, with her other. The Blue Spirit tugged his arm back. His opponent was formidable indeed. However so, he thought, she was a robber. He grabbed one of her wrists and reached with the other for her opposite shoulder.

He tugged on both, pulling her back to his chest and locking both arms around her from behind. He held her to him for a moment, trying to place the familiar smell of her hair, but was caught off-guard by the elbow that jabbed into his ribs. He could hear sirens approaching. If he restrained her, the police that were now on his side could handcuff her and take her to the precinct.

The corners of the girl's mouth twitched down as she heard the sirens. The Blue Spirit took a step back when she drew a gun from the back of her leather pants. The leather pants that were tight over every inch of her muscular, slender, long legs. Fuck, she had an ass just as good as Katara's, the Blue Spirit mused to himself, if not better.

She stepped toward him and pressed the end of the gun to the Blue Spirit's neck, just under his black-clad chin. She pushed him back with the gun, until his back was against the glass window of the shop, which was covered on the outside by what resembled a garage door. She pressed her body against his and tilted her head up to look into the darkened holes where she was sure his eyes had to be. She pressed the gun just a little harder, and pressed her body the same.

A smirk lit up her face as she felt the excitement below his waistline jump just a little bit into her belly. She'd never known being a deviant was this much fun. She was messing with this guy's head and loving every second of it. This beloved hero, with his silent deliberation, was now just another man wanting what he couldn't have. The girl who had been crushing over the Blue Spirit had disappeared, and in her place was a seductress of a woman, pressed up against him, taunting him. She pulled away from him, and she knew his body, rigid with excitement, had frozen in disappointment. She'd known, however, that he hadn't expected anything to come of her playing with his psyche. But a guy could hope.

The smirk opened up into a self-impressed laugh, as she continued to aim the gun at the Blue Spirit, who'd come away from the wall to stand in a more dignified position. She'd fired a gun before; at a bird. She'd gotten the bird, too, before her father had taken the gun from her and scolded her. She'd only been six.

She gestured the gun to her own head as if tipping a hat, before shooting the lock on the door to the shop, tugging open the door and pushing up the robbery shield and darting out for the nearest pawnshop. And thus, the Blue Spirit was bested for the first time ever. And it had been caught on tape.


	14. Aero

"Miss Marina!" Mrs. Donovan snapped loudly at the girl in the front row, biting back a smirk at the moving images on her phone screen. "PUT, that PHONE, **AWAY**!" she exploded. Katara compared the woman's temper to that of a four year old having a strop. "Or I shall order you another week's detention!"

Katara gave an exasperated moan, before tucking her phone back into her leather jacket, hooking it into the inside pocket. "There. Happy now?"

"I'm never happy." Donovan replied coldly. "What exactly were you looking at?" she tilted her head back to peer down her nose at Katara.

"I don't have to tell you; it's in my human rights." Katara leant back and crossed her arms. "But since you ask, I was watching a video entitled '_How Much 'Awesome' Can You Fit Into A Video_'."

"Aha. I believe many students today have been heard talking about such a thing." Mrs. Donovan turned her back to the class, giving Katara opportunity to look at Zuko for a moment. What the woman was actually saying was 'I eavesdropped on kids who were talking about that'. She continued. "Web-released security camera footage of our local vigilante being outmatched by a similarly attired, female criminal, who people are now referring to as … _The Painted Lady._" She spat out the title as if she were walking about a pile of dog shit on a sidewalk.

Katara felt a grin growing on her face; knowing and unabashed. Zuko scowled beside her, but she didn't pay any notice. Her entire day had been spent reliving her triumph last night, watching it over and over again on her phone, like serial killer reliving their crime, experiencing a feeling of power as the Blue Spirit bent to her will. Just a little girl on the outside; unassuming, average, she presumed; but a mysterious and dangerous criminal within.

The voices had ceased since the night before; possibly because her mind was elsewhere. "Pretty sweet, huh?" Katara addressed the teacher casually.

"No, Miss Marina." Mrs. Donovan replied coldly. "It is nothing of the sort. This woman is a criminal, guilty of robbery and grand theft and should be accordingly punished."

'_That sounds sexy.' _The devil on her shoulder whispered lewdly. Katara let out a tiny laugh.

"Does this amuse you, Katara?" Donovan snarled, pulling a face. "Are you entertained by the salacious conduct of a delinquent woman who behaves as little more than a crude harlot?"

Katara's eyes narrowed and her grin fell just a little bit. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm enthralled by the skill she employed in _distracting_ a man who, up until now, hasn't been defeated once. You seem only to have paid attention to her _sexual_ influence over the Blue Spirit. You forget she managed to hold him off in a physical battle." he hissed out the vital word. She was sure

Donovan hated to be disproved. There was a long silence as the teacher tried to think of an answer for Katara's statement. She finally cleared her throat and addressed the entire class. "Well, since Miss Katara is so astute, and you are older, and supposedly more astute than she is, perhaps you _all_ wouldn't mind a little essay project due in this Monday." The woman's face twisted into a sick-looking grin as the classroom collectively moaned. Turned her back to the class and stalked toward her desk, collecting up a stack of crisp white paper.

Katara raised a hand and pressed her fingertips to one temple. "Fuck." She whispered to herself, accidentally looking again to Zuko. She couldn't tell what it was, but something about him today was different. It was like he was expelling defeat, expressing frustration. She frowned inwardly. Maybe she just 'couldn't keep her eyes off him'. It was so fucking hard to be so insanely pissed off with that jerk when he was so … _Zuko. _There he was, in all his glory and looks, and … well, it was _him._

Donovan explained as she handed out the sheets of paper. "These are lists of topics you may choose from to write your pieces on. You may work alone, in pairs with other members of the class, or as a group of no more than three people. All members of your team or pair must be members of this class. This assignment was going to be given to you in three month's time, but as Katara has shown me, you are capable already of completing such an assignment."

Katara's head jerked back as someone tugged a lock of her dark brown hair. Katara jumped away from the tug and raised a hand to the back of her head, scratching in the pained area. "Ow!" she exclaimed, turning in her seat to glare at Lydia.

"Dipstick." Lydia hissed at Katara, probably for making her have to do extra work.

"Hey, back off." Zuko turned in his seat, popping out one of his headphones to take his friend's side.

"OoooOOooooohh, I'm so scared. What you going to do, then? You going to punch me like your friend did?" she gave a brief laugh, like that of a conqueror.

Katara glanced to Zuko in hurt, still rubbing the back of her head. Zuko snarled at Lydia with gritted teeth. "No." his golden eyes stared into Lydia's green ones, cold and unforgiving. "I'll hit you harder."

Lydia grinned and raised her hand, her green eyes meeting with Mrs. Donovan's gray ones. "Mrs. Donovan? Zuko here just threatened to hit me."

Mrs. Donovan peered down at Zuko. "You can join your friend in detention this Saturday, then." She gestured to Katara.

Zuko's brows came down in annoyance and he tossed his head to throw some of his overgrown black locks from his eyes. This were not going well for him with women; Katara was cracking insults about his being his father's son, Lydia was doing everything to get him and Katara in trouble, The Painted Lady was _distracting _him with the obvious tactic against a man … he was pulled out of his train of thought by Katara's voice.

"You didn't say I had detention!" she leant forward in her chair, propping her elbows on her desk and dropping her hands down behind the desk so they hovered over her lap. Her eyes fell fixed on the teacher's.

"Well, now I have."

"On what grounds!" Katara shouted at the teacher, shooting up out of her seat, the bottoms of her sneakers taking firm root on the laminate floor of the classroom, up like a lawyer in action. She was every bit her father's daughter, but if anyone had said so anytime around now, she'd have slapped them silly. Two or three weeks had gone by since she'd stopped being civil with her father.

Mrs. Donovan glanced down for a moment; to the space where Katara's pen lay. The blue-eyed girl's English book was absent. "Your book. Where is it?"

Katara's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?" she exploded in outrage.

"I'm dead serious, Miss Marina."

Katara glared at Mrs. Donovan for a long while; hoping that if she stared really fucking hard the teacher's head would just explode of her tubby shoulders and the world would be a better place for the one bit of evil taken from it. She eventually collapsed back into her seat and crossed her arms. "Bitch." She cursed under her breath.

* * *

><p>At the back of the school, there was a road blocked off from the students because it was completely iced over. It had originally led to a parking lot, but no cars had been able to get to it in the snow. So this lunch hour, the Gaang did what they liked to call 'Backpack Sledding', on that downhill road to the student parking lot. They grabbed hold of a backpack, pressed it to their stomachs and jumped to the snow and ice, sliding the whole way down.<p>

As Sokka and Aang raced down the slope, Zuko leant against the brick wall of the school, his arms crossed and one foot up on the wall. His ego was bruised, not unlike the spot under his jaw where The Painted Lady had pressed the gun just a little too hard. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as the thought of being beaten by a girl. The worst had been the way she'd manipulated him. She'd beaten him through the cheap tactic of flirting.

If what she did the night prior could be called Flirting.

"Hey. Why are you sitting here moping?" Toph approached, munching on a chocolate bar.

Zuko looked around. Nobody was listening. "Got my ass handed to me last night."

Toph grinned. "Yup. Not really, but you failed to stop the robbery because your manhood got in the way." She gestured casually below his belt, before taking a large bite of her chocolate bar.

Zuko wondered how girls could so casually talk about sex, like it was an everyday subject. "Yeah, if you want to put it that way. You should've seen her in action though … she was a woman on a mission." He shook his head in thought. She had been. Perhaps she had only needed to commit one crime, and he wouldn't need to face her again. He hated wanted to avoid her; she was magnificent to behold.

"Ah-huh. In leather pants. Gotta love that, right Romeo?" Toph turned and pressed her back against the wall beside Zuko, giving him a little nudge in the side with her elbow.

Zuko gave a tiny wince as she caught one of his bruises. "Yeah." He answered absentmindedly, his mind torn between thoughts of The Painted Lady and thoughts of Katara, who was laughing in amusement at Sokka and Aang returning from the bottom of the slope with snow covering them from head to toe. The Painted Lady was sexy, admittedly, but Katara was beautiful. And, well … she was Katara. She was amazing, and friendly, and sweet and kind … it was impossible _not _to love a girl like that.

Toph followed Zuko's gaze to the blue-eyed girl taking a bag from Aang. "Okay, Sparky, while you write a romance novel in your head, I'm going down that road." Toph reached out and patted him on the arm whilst walking away, toward the slope. "Hey, toss me that bag!" she yelled out to Sokka.

* * *

><p>Katara rapped her knuckles on the door lightly, while opening it and peeking in. "Jin?" she asked quietly into the sterile hospital room. As she stepped fully in, she saw Jet sitting at Jin's bedside, the two of them talking calmly. "Hey. How are you doing?" Katara smiled fully, approaching and shutting the door behind her.<p>

Jin smiled briefly, turning her head away from Jet to look at Katara. "Jet was telling me about everything you did for my mother. Thank you."

Katara continued to smile, setting down the oversized 'get well soon' teddy bear on the table beside her hospital bed. "Jet pretty much moved into your house to help her. All I did was give your mom's number to my dad."

"I'm still grateful; I don't think I'd have wanted to be rescued if I knew I'd have to go to my father." Jin looked down briefly. She looked back up and stared into Katara's eyes. "The FBI have me seeing a Psychotherapist on their budget that specializes in stuff like this. She says I've repressed most of the memories of my ordeal. I don't know if I want to remember them."

Katara shut her eyes and sighed. "Yeah." She answered thoughtfully. She agreed; how much would she have done to continue thinking her mother had just being randomly mugged, to keep her false closure? How much would she have given to leave her past in the past, and try hopelessly at a future without a need for revenge? "But you know they only want to catch the man that did all this."

"And then send him to jail; and for that they'll need to take him to criminal court, and they'll want me to be a witness. And that means I'll have to see his smug … sick, ugly face again." She shut her eyes. "Fuck, Katara. I can't even find the words to explain the things that …" she trailed off to bite her lip.

"You don't have to." Katara reached out for the bed and patted Jin's hand. "So, did you hear the Blue Spirit rescued you?" _'Yeah, Mr. Give It To Me Baby. Mr. Don't Tease Me Honey. Mr. Fuck That Feels Good,' _The devil on her shoulder cooed in her ear, titillating Katara's need to do it again. She couldn't deny she wanted to screw around with The Blue Spirit's head again.

"Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty cool. But you guys are my real heroes. My mom means everything to me; I'm glad she wasn't alone." She grasped Katara's hand and Jet's, and shut her eyes again, smiling blissfully. It was good to be safe, with people who cared for her.

* * *

><p>Katara was walking toward the exit of the hospital, about two hours after arriving and spending said time talking about many things that a person can't quite list in a single sentence. As she was walking through the waiting room, she was also thinking of a lot of things that couldn't quite be fitted into a single sentence. Zuko. The Blue Spirit. Mom. Doctor Marina. <em>'I'm So Sorry, Doctor Marina.'<em>

"Gosh, you're big." Someone addressed her, surprise in their voice.

Katara looked about and saw a woman with a short, curly bob of classy burgundy dyed hair, skin bronzed by the sun's kisses. The stranger's dainty lips split open so gleaming white teeth could smile at her. Dark brown eyes seemed to spark with fond memories. Katara stopped in her tracks to take in the well-dressed woman leaning against one of the hospital's walls and smiling at her as if she knew her. "Are you calling me fat, lady?" Katara asked in confusion, a little twinge of hostility in her voice.

"What? Fuck, no. You're just a helluva lot bigger than you were when I last saw you. Musta been about nine, I think. Your brother was eleven." The lady raised a hand and rubbed at the side of her nose as if there was a tickle on it. "I'm one of those aunties that wasn't actually your aunt, but you called me one 'cause that's what your parents referred to me as. Auntie Kelly. Or Kelly Glassman, now that you're bigger." She held her hand out to Katara.

Katara briefly shook her head, before taking Kelly's hand and shaking it. "Sorry. I don't remember you, but I do remember an Auntie Kelly."

"It's fine. I imagine your father invited a load of people to them house parties and expected you to call them _Auntie This_ and _Uncle That_ … your mom never liked that." She gave a brief, lopsided smile.

Katara's face lit up. "You knew my mom?" Someone other than her father who knew her mother enough to explain the complexities of her life that may have ultimately led to her death was standing before her. This woman was possibly a little bit younger than her mother would have been today, or maybe she just looked younger because she didn't have kids.

"Knew her?" Kelly huffed an amused laugh. "I worked with her, but nobody could ever really know her. I guess that's what I loved about Kya." She shook her head in sadness. "I think I threw up and locked myself in my house for about a month when I found out she'd been murdered. I can't be sure; shock must've given me some form of amnesia over the whole time."

Katara gulped down her own emotions about that time. "Can we talk outside?" she gestured past Kelly to the doors that led to the snow. If she could get Kelly away from a crowd, away from people, maybe she could find out some more about her mother. Possibly find out what the man in her head meant by 'Doctor Marina'-

"Oh, no, I'm supposed to see my new patient here." Kelly shrugged slightly.

Katara frowned hard in confusion. "Patient?" Fuck, she hadn't even needed to ask. Perhaps her mother had worked in this very hospital. Perhaps her mother had helped to birth other people's babies the way she'd birthed Sokka, and Katara. Or been a brain surgeon, or a cardiothoracic surgeon, or a pediatrics specialist or-

Kelly paused and looked at Katara incredulously. "Well … yeah, that's what I do, I'm a psychotherapist … That's what me and your mom did for a living…? I'm sure you already knew that, right?" she looked about for a moment, as if she were telling Katara critical information about some kind of murder. Unwittingly, she was.

Katara froze. "No." her reply came out on a breath as her sight unfocused and she ended up staring forwards in confusion. A psychotherapist. So if the man who'd killed her mother had been a patient of hers … he was completely out of his fucking mind. That made revenge a helluva lot harder.

Kelly swallowed and put her hand on Katara's shoulder. "Come on, that patient of mine can wait."

* * *

><p>Katara sat opposite Kelly in a small coffee shop called 'Cup-o-Joe's', a strong, sweet coffee in the two hands of hers that rested on the table. Kelly was drinking a cappuccino and gazing into it in thought, trying to remember everything relevant that Hakoda, ever the sugar-coater, would've neglected to tell his daughter. She hadn't thought of the woman who'd been like a sister to her in so long. Kya had, for a long time, been the closest thing she'd had to family.<p>

"We had a clinic about two blocks from the Dahlia Coast beach. Your family's always lived here, Kya came back as soon as we finished our Med School run at Harvard, during such a time as she met your father, who was going to Yale, taking law." Kelly gave a brief laugh of nostalgia. "He'd just started senior year when we got into sophomore year, and we met him at this really nice book place in Connecticut. I think he spilled _ice-cold _orange soda on her brand new suit shirt and she slapped him across the face. And then he took her out to dinner to make up for it."

Katara looked to the coffee in her hands, before taking a sip of it.

"Hakoda stayed in Boston with us after he graduated, got a temporary spot at a firm … then as soon as we got out of med school, she dragged us back down here. We did our internships at the very hospital we just met in, and a few years of surgical residency too. We'd already decided we needed to go into psychiatry when we began our internships. So we went back to college together, took a whole bunch of psych courses, some of which I'm still paying for, and three years later we were opening up our own clinic." Kelly tilted her cappuccino in her hand and sighed.

Katara looked up and saw Kelly looking down into her cup, so immersed in the story it was like she was listening to someone else tell a tale.

"Yup, and by then, Hakoda was already thinking of starting his own firm, 'cause the old firms down here were dying. He met up with Lao Bei Fong and Arnook Chander, they all hit it off and from there things took off for him. On the same night he announced he was starting a firm, he proposed to your mom. They got married, she got pregnant … and they kind of just forgot about me. It used to be the three of us, but I guess love is stronger than … than whatever there was between me and Kya."

"What happened to your clinic?"

"She kept working, she just saw it more as a job than she had before. We hired in some other psychiatrists, money was rolling in … I remember something changed in her the day she got a certain patient. Spanish guy. She started talking to me again, being friendly. She told me she felt like she was getting somewhere with this patient, and she hadn't felt that in a long time. It was good to have my friend back." Kelly looked up from the table and met Katara's eyes. They were also Kya's eyes, and she felt like Kya was there with her. It gave her a little more confidence.

Katara met Kelly's brown eyes with a soft expression, listening only in the hope that she'd find out more about this Spanish patient.

"I came to Sokka's eleventh birthday, and then two months after that, the FBI called me and said they wanted me to work on their Behavioral Analysis Unit. Help them dig out serial killers and psychos from the memories of their victims. Kya told me to take the job, and so I did. The last thing she told me was to go get my dream." Kelly paused to look down, taking in a shaky breath. "And I did." She took in a hungry sip of a cooling cappuccino.

Katara put her coffee down and sighed, putting her elbows on the table. "Why didn't she tell me she was a psychotherapist?" she thought aloud.

"After she had kids, she saw the darkness in the job. She wanted to protect you all from that darkness. She said she talked to Hakoda about it, sometimes, but tried to keep out the details. She was always such a bright, happy person. I always knew she'd be a good mom, with them good egg kids that go onto be human rights activists or god knows what …"

Katara dropped her gaze to the table, putting one hand on the other forearm on the table. "Kelly … my mom trusted a lot to you. She shared with you something she hid from her family. You're right to think you were close. I want to trust you the same." She looked up and her crystal clear blue eyes, deep as the ocean, poured into Kelly's brown ones. The woman with the burgundy hair stared back at the familiar blue stare.

Kelly's brows came down in confusion at Katara's words, however.

"I want you to help me remember who killed my mother."

* * *

><p>That night, The Painted Lady surveyed a closed drugstore and the street surrounding it, from a spot in a dark alley opposite. It was cheap looking, minimal security, with possibly two cameras in the whole place. A flickering streetlight was right outside the front door into the store, its light reflecting bright on the tarnished, foot-imprinted snow before it. Cigarette butts were strewn on the snow, and they reminded her of what her ex-best-friend did when he was stressed.<p>

He'd done a lot of smoking today.

The Painted Lady darted across the street and pulled the lock pick and torque wrench from their holsters on her newly modified belt. She thanked her Gran-Gran for teacher her to sew, because now she had a utility belt like Batman. She tossed her head to flick her ponytail out of the back of her turtleneck, short-sleeved sweater. She'd hastily gotten changed after walking through the seediest part of town, seeing sick and starving children walking around, slowly and helplessly, aimlessly as it seemed, their mothers limping or trudging after them, their fathers shooting up or digging through garbage for food.

The stop after the drugstore would be to a convenience store to fill a garbage bag with food for those people.

Katara popped open the lock and pushed open the door. She knew that although this drugstore had only two security cameras, it had a silent alarm that had gone off the moment her pick had entered the lock. Again, she knew this because of her father. She dashed through the aisles and drew out a small plastic bag, folded up in her pocket. Once she dropped the medicine off for the poor district, she'd go to get the food.

She raked painkillers and muscle relaxants into the bag before vaulting over the counted getting into the really heavy stuff. Anti-inflammatory drugs, antiseptics, anything she could get that would ease and heal the pain of the people. She grabbed up what she could before using her lock pick and torque wrench to crack open the till. Some money would do her good, and make it look like a simple robbery.

She raced out the door the fastest she could. What a mistake. He ankle collided with someone else's foot, readily placed for the purpose of tripping her, and she flew forward a little, before her hands caught her in the snow. Her arms were now wet and freezing with the white frost of the ground. She turned around and saw her bag of medicines being scrutinized by the Blue Spirit, who knelt down over it.

She snarled viciously and leapt to her feet. She ran at him and grabbed for his arms, but he got to his feet and blocked her. It was his chance to unnerve _her_, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. As she pulled back from him and threw a punch at his masked face, he ducked to one side and grasped her elbow, holding her arm out of reach for her to hit him. He landed a punch in her ribs that she winced away from, but she eventually pulled her elbow back and gave a tactful shove in the center of his chest with the heel of her hand.

He involuntarily took a few steps back, and put a hand on his chest, pressing soothingly on where she'd struck him. He considered his swords for threat purpose, but if someone zigged while the other zagged, he could seriously hurt her. And as much as media speculation may have said, he didn't want to kill The Painted Lady, or even make her unable to fight him. He liked their encounters so far, and she hadn't given him any reason not to.

And in a way, he kind of respected his capable and skilled opponent.

The Painted Lady shot a foot high into the air, catching the bottom of his jaw on its journey as intended. He hated to lose, and he wasn't going to this time. As her foot came down, he grabbed her ankle and knocked her to the ground. He looked down at her and gave a triumphant smile inside his mask. He plucked up her bag of medicines from the snow and dropped it beside her, and he saw her brows come down in total confusion.

He was letting her take the drugs?

She felt excitement in her stomach as she lay on the snow in waiting; he just wanted to get back at her for her 'distraction' last time. She'd have grinned if she thought it wouldn't stop him from … whatever it was he was planning to do. But, to her disappointment, The Blue Spirit simply made a hat-tipping gesture and disappeared into the night, knowing that it would confuse and unnerve her for him _not _to do anything, just as much as her actions had bothered him. He knew what made women tick.

The Painted Lady got up and snatched the bag of medicines from her side, her eyes pointed in the direction in which The Blue Spirit had taken off. Why was she disappointed? She felt her cheeks flash hot pink under her mask. She shook it off and stared after him. "What the fuck?" She muttered under her breath.

* * *

><p>Katara had gotten home late that night, and also every other night between then and Saturday, at such a time where she'd woken up, gotten dressed and begun the walk to school. When she finally got to the school, she discovered it was snowing yet again, and the winds were picking up. She made her way through the deserted halls of Dahlia Coast High Public School until she reached the detention classroom that emanated morning depression.<p>

Zuko was leaning back in his chair, two rows in front of Toph, discreetly listening to _30 Seconds To Mars_ on his iPod, his eyes falling closed every now and again. Aang and Toph sat in the two back corners of the room, as the students were not allowed to converse in detention. Katara didn't know why _they_ were here, but she knew why _she _was here. She was here because Mrs. Donovan the English teacher was a stupid old bitch. A few kids she didn't know were also dotted across the classroom. She tugged out a chair in the row in front of Aang, and sat with him behind her.

Mrs. Alderman stalked in and pulled out the seat at her desk at the front of the classroom. She paused and let her eyes scan over the students. "Morning, students." She spoke, just as tired as everyone else. "Now, Scorsese, Marina; I've been told you have assignments due in Monday." She grabbed four sheets of lined paper from her desk, approaching Zuko at the back of the class. She dropped two sheets before him, along with a pen from her pocket, before crossing the classroom and handing the other two to Katara, with another pen. "Get started on them. You are welcome to work as a team between yourselves."

Katara made a face and some kind of noise that expressed her distaste for such a possibility. "_**No**_ thanks." She

Zuko scowled and gave a low grunt of disdain. "Bitch." He murmured.

"Oh, **I'm** the bitch." Katara exclaimed in mock revelation. "Oh, _sorry_, I thought it was _you_ who was wrapped around that little _**fucktard's**_ finger, but _nope_, I was wrong. I'm the bitch because I refuse to talk to you." Sarcasm dripped from her tongue.

Zuko shot her a warning glare. "Shut up."

"Fine. I'm done talking to you anyway." She turned back to her paper.

Toph and Aang seemed to both roll their eyes in annoyance. They were so obviously attracted to one another, and yet all they were doing now was arguing. What a waste of passion! Both teenagers began viciously writing on their papers. Honestly, why couldn't they just wave in the hall and say 'by the way, the reason I hate you is that I love you'.

Katara scrawled furiously on the subject of Population; about the differences between Indian and American conception traditions, and their effect on the population of the world, her mind focused entirely on something else. Zuko ran rampant in her head. God, to think she had liked him.

She had liked a person so utterly untrustworthy. Not only that, he had left out his _own _suicide attempt from his conversation with Lydia, and capably expressed how totally out-of-her-mind Katara was, and conveniently neglected to show _himself _up as _equally _insane. The selfish fucking jerk-off.

Zuko scribbled down what he'd studied the night prior, briefly, before passing out in exhaustion, on the subject of Sexism and its worldwide variations. The only thing he could truly think of, however, was Katara. He knew he'd screwed up with Lydia, and he tried to apologize, but Katara wouldn't hear it. He couldn't warn Katara about her pictures in the kidnappers trunk until he knew she would believe him, and that needed trust. He didn't know what there was left to do; short of get down on his knees and grovel.

And that was out of the question. But still, he couldn't pretend he'd done nothing wrong; he truly had fucked up, but Katara wasn't giving him any rope to show her that he was sorry. The stubborn bitch.

"I'll be back; until then, no talking." Alderman dropped her oversized bag on the floor, before heading for the door and disappearing into it.

Zuko snapped his head to Katara as soon as the door clicked shut. "What the hell is your problem?" he pushed his seat back and got to his feet, tugging her earphones out of his ears. Sure, it hurt, but he wanted to try to understand whatever Katara was going to yell out.

Katara barked at him from her seat. "You're my problem!" she shouted angrily, before pushing her seat back and getting to her own feet. "You're a selfish, stupid, blabbermouth!" she took a menacing step toward him. Hell, she was the Painted Lady; she wasn't afraid of _Zuko. _"You know damn well what my problem is!"

Zuko gave a heaving sigh of exasperation. "I've said sorry like, a hundred times; what do you want me to do?" he snapped tensely.

Katara put one hand on her hip and tilted her head. "Oh, I don't know, maybe you could un-say what you told to Lydia. OH, WAIT, You can't!" she balled her fist at her side, as is she wanted to punch him. "Apologies are just words!"

"Guys, stop it." Aang tried tiredly; he couldn't do fighting in the mornings.

"Yeah, it's kinda early to go at each other's throats just yet …" Toph gave a yawn.

Katara huffed in hostility. "Whatever." She sank back into her seat and crossed her arms.

Zuko shook her head aggressively, stalking over to her side of the classroom. Katara may have shrunk a little in fear, but she didn't show it. He leant forward on the desk and jabbed a finger on it to get his point across. "It isn't _whatever, _Katara. I'm going to earn your forgiveness. Whether you like it or not."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ALRIGHTY THEN. You'll like a Kelly a little more eventually. And don't you worry, he **_**will**_** earn her forgiveness damn it. If I have to tear someone a new asshole, he will earn her forgiveness. And Lydia is gonna get hers sometime VERY soon. I just need to decide who's gonna give it to her. I kinda want it to be Katara's triumph.**

**OOH, you know who's been missing? OZAI'S ANGELS! ^-^ I got sumpin BIG planned fer yoos three. Yup. Yup yup. Yup yup yup yup yup. OKIDOKI nows I gots to go an write you sum more! Stay tuned for FUN!**

**REVIEW!**


	15. Minstrels

For a long ten days, The Painted Lady's and the Blue Spirit's paths did not cross. One of them called it 'convenient coincidence'; despite the fact that she was not remotely happy about his absence, and the other was probably calling it 'laying in wait', or even 'making her suffer'. The longer he waited, the longer she would think about him, and ultimately, obsess over him.

By the eleventh day, the Painted Lady was beginning to bore of her robberies and thefts. They no longer offered any derivative pleasure, or dirty amusement. They were just plain impulsive, and she was beginning to see the damage she was doing to other people. Sure, she was robbing the rich and helping the poor, but her enjoyment had ceased when she'd walked past a store she'd robbed, the day after, with Suki, and seen a man sweeping up glass with his son, who couldn't have been older than thirteen, doing an inventory.

They weren't rich. They were just as poor as those in the slums, trying to limp ahead. And she had ruined them. For the first day she'd told herself that the devil on her shoulder had joined the two men who'd killed her mother, and they were ultimately trying to make her feel guilty for helping people. Then she realized it was just her own conscience, kicking her where she needed to be kicked.

And also, her therapy sessions with Kelly were like a pickaxe at a dam. She was going to crumble any time now. She still hadn't been able to make sense of the one face and the two voices, but she'd pretty much remembered all of the conversation between Kya and the two men. _'Don't let him make you do this. You can stop him. You can do it!'_

'_I can't!'_

'_No, you cannot!'_

'_Yes you can!'_

She was deteriorating in mental stability. She'd begun to see the first man standing around in school, waiting for her by the front door to her house. She'd seen him following her everywhere, as if wanting help. She wasn't sleeping well, she was drinking a lot, and even strangers began to think there was something wrong. Kelly worried the most, because she knew how close she was to the edge.

"Katara." Kelly spoke softly, toward the end of their session, two Wednesdays from Katara's Saturday detention.

Katara gave a tired nod. "Yeah?"

"Tell me about Zuko."

"Zuko?" Katara's voice wavered, as she leant forward in her seat, her foot tapping nervously at the floor as she held her hands together near her chest. She'd begun to wear her mother's necklace on a choker, finally, and it had offered some solace like the key had to Roland in 'The Waste Lands'. By the day Kelly had predicted a breakthrough would occur, the necklace was not doing enough to keep Katara sane.

"You talk about him a lot. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about him."

Katara shook her head solemnly. "I shouldn't. It would be hypocritical." She lowered her head and took it on both sides with claw-like hands.

"Why?"

"Because I lost him as a friend, because he told his bitchy girlfriend about my … I lost his friendship because he was talking about me, so I can't talk about him." She raked her fingers on her scalp, trying to claw away the darkness in her.

"You want to help yourself, don't you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I'm sure he would want you to help yourself."

Katara was silent, staring down at the floor. "Would he?" she asked herself aloud. "I don't … I don't know, he hates me now, I was so mean to him."

"Why don't you start with how you were before he told his 'bitchy girlfriend', okay?" Kelly smiled softly.

Katara nodded awkwardly. "He was my best friend." She began thoughtfully. "There was a time where we'd jump in front of a train for one another. We loved each other, as friends. But I fell in love with him, and maybe that's why I wouldn't allow myself to like Lydia …"

"Lydia?" Kelly asked, her eyes fixed on the notebook in her hands.

"He was dating her. He told her about my … my …"

"It's okay, you don't have to say it. You fell in love with him."

Katara gave another awkward nod, her thumb brushing at her face, massaging the tears into her skin. "I was so hurt. I wouldn't let him apologize. I wouldn't let him stop feeling guilty. I drove us both into insanity." She shut her eyes.

Kelly frowned. "I'm not sure I understand, sweetheart." She chewed her pen in confusion.

"He spends his evenings holed up at the bar in his kitchen, with his house lady pouring him whiskey after whiskey … he comes to school hungover every day, still looking like he bears the weight of the world on his shoulders. It's devouring him; I know it. His downfall is on my head."

Kelly looked down briefly, disheartened by her literary speech. "You've been reading a lot."

Katara's face twisted sourly. "I've also been drinking a lot. I drink and read. I can't see my friends; who am I to make Zuko unwelcome with his friends? So I sit, and I drink … and I read."

Kelly doubted her prediction of a breakthrough. She'd only ever seen this kind of attitude in suicidal patients. "Can't, or won't?"

"I can't. I can't. I _can't_." Katara shook her head tiredly. "I struggle not to look at him in school; all I can feel is cold and horrible and guilty when I see his drunken, unkempt, unshaven face, with those remorseful golden eyes that beg of forgiveness …" she let a sob explode though her body, tears running from her eyes. "I can't. I've ruined him, and he would let me ruin him some more. I can't."

'_I can't.'_

"Okay, lay off the Stephen King for a while." Kelly flipped shut her notepad. She wasn't going to have a breakthrough today. "Here." She reached across her temporary office and grasped a box of tissues, sliding them across the coffee table to Katara. "You need to make amends with this Zuko."

Katara plucked one from the box and wiped her face. "Tell me how."

"Huh?"

"_Oh, Hi, Zuko. Remember me? I'm the one that drove you back into depression, turned you into an alcoholic, but then again, I did that to myself too, but never mind, just wanted to say I'm really sorry I fucked up your life, can we go back to being friends now? Oh, wait, I changed my mind, did you know I love you?"_ She recited sardonically, in a singsong voice, high-pitched and testy.

Kelly sighed heavily. "You left out 'I forgive you'."

Katara froze. "Huh?"

"You have to forgive him. Forgiveness is the first step here. You can't possibly understand the idea of apology if you don't understand forgiveness. You want revenge … you want to retaliate, that's why you came to me; to seek revenge on the men who killed your mother. You need to learn to forgive even the most morbid of crimes." Kelly put her notepad on the coffee table.

Katara got out of her seat. "_Forgive_?"

"Forgiveness is a foreign concept to you. You never forgave the men who killed your mother, you never forgave yourself for not standing beside her, you cannot forgive your father for moving on, you will not forgive your friend … your refusal to accept and forgive will give the world leeway to leave you behind, Katara."

Katara exclaimed indignantly. She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again. Forgive? Forgive the men who killed her mother? Forgive her father for … Katara opened her mouth again to answer, but it shut again. She gave a grunt of confusion and grabbed her jacket, stalking out the door.

* * *

><p>Forgive. Katara tried to forgive her father first. Could she forgive him? He was the easiest of all to forgive. He hadn't done anything wrong, but his actions had hurt her. He didn't need to be forgiven. She would need to speak to him and apologize herself. She couldn't let him continue to believe himself to be in the wrong.<p>

Forgive. Katara tried to forgive the men who'd killed her mother next. She couldn't. Not after the way they'd rewritten the story of her life. They had delivered her into darkness, into depression, into suicide. They had dropped her off on hell's doorstep and rang the doorbell. They had smashed apart her perfect world.

Forgive. Katara tried to forgive Zuko next. She tried very hard. She tried to imagine that his telling Lydia of her attempt was just a silly mistake he'd made. He'd betrayed her, but not out of malice. He'd betrayed her because he'd known nothing else to say. Even so, she was unable to forgive. She was unable to forgive that.

Forgive. Katara thought very long and hard about forgiving herself. She hated to admit it, but Kelly was right. She was unable to forgive so many things. She could, however, give herself a chance to redeem herself, and give Zuko a chance to be redeemed. She had to avenge her mother's death, not for closure, not for the men to be punished. She needed to forgive herself.

Anyone she'd said this to would have explicitly explained that forgiveness and revenge never entered the same sentence, unless you were saying how they didn't fit into a sentence together. As it were, Katara had learnt not to share her thoughts; they might lead her to a mental hospital. She'd only told Aang and Suki that she was secretly seeing a psychotherapist three times a week.

She was cutting time off school on Wednesdays, Mondays and Saturdays to go to see Kelly. She arrived at school at 10am after her recent session, marched into her English class and stared. She had hoped his back would be turned as she walked in, but there he was; scarred, pale, unshaven, his shaggy hair a little more unkempt than usual …with those great big golden eyes that begged forgiveness.

She lowered her eyes and took her seat next to him. An hour passed and she walked out of the classroom to see Aang and Suki standing in wait. Zuko had noticed they had been around her a lot lately, after that thing at Toph's house, when she'd told them something that had been bothering her. It had to do with why she was two hours late every Monday and Wednesday. Zuko discreetly tailed them until he saw them disappear into stairwell G. He ducked behind the door and listened closely.

"Spill the beans, Katara. How are things going?" Suki asked in concern.

"Yeah, we're starting to get worried about you." Aang added thoughtfully.

"I'm starting to worry about me too." Katara answered solemnly. "Kelly says I have problems forgiving."

'_I'll say." _Zuko thought to himself. A jock walked past him listening in by the door, and gave him a look of either disgust or confusion, that he misread as disapproval and tossed them the middle finger, before returning his thought to Katara. _'Who's Kelly?' _

"She said I needed to forgive the men who killed my mother. That I needed to … to forgive myself for leaving her."

"And Zuko." Suki pointed out.

Katara sighed in resignation. "Yeah. And Zuko. I thought about it, and she's right. I do have problems forgiving."

"Have you forgiven the men who killed your mother?" Aang piped up.

Zuko would've smacked him for such a phrase. You can't forgive something like that.

"No." Katara answered coldly. "I'm going to find them, though. And when I do … when I do, there'll be hell to pay."

Aang and Suki each gave noises of disapproval. "Forgiveness, Katara. Forgiveness." Aang tried helplessly. He had no doubt Katara was capable of murder. He just doubted that she'd be able to live with herself afterward.

Katara snapped at him. "My shrink can tell me to forgive anyone she likes, that doesn't mean I'm going to run up to Zuko and say 'HEY, BY THE WAY, I TOTALLY THINK IT'S FINE WHAT YOU SAID TO LYDIA, LET'S BE BEST-BUDDIES-FOREVER-AND-EVER AGAIN'." she spoke dryly. "I tried to forgive him. I wanted to, and I still do. I just don't know how. But I have to kill these men so I can learn forgiveness."

Aang and Suki both made extreme noises of disapproval and shock, and Zuko felt his legs waver under him. _'Kill for forgiveness? She's getting revenge so she can forgive?' _his head screamed at the lack of logic. He peered around the corner to watch them. _'Wait, Katara's seeing a shrink?'_

"Katara, are you crazy? Do you hear yourself?" Suki yelled at her friend, her hands waving in the air dramatically.

"I do." Katara touched her fingers to her necklace and shut her eyes. "But before I can forgive anyone else, I need to forgive myself."

Zuko shut his eyes and sighed quietly. Again, he longed to hug her and send all the darkness away. He wanted to shield her from the world she wanted to dig herself into. He wanted to erase the evils she had to forgive, and kiss away the tears she'd shed. But alas, he was a ruined man. He'd have been a liar to proclaim she was not also victim to such ruin, and neither could deliver themselves or each other from it.

He'd done a lot of drinking and reading over the last few days.

"He's a Spaniard, the first man. I know that much. He was a patient of my mother's, back when she had her clinic. She thought she was getting some progress, right up until he blew her brains out." Katara spat bluntly. "I'd bet anything his records are still at the clinic."

"Are you going to get them?" Suki asked carefully.

Katara looked down. "No. No yet. I'm going to have another session this Saturday. I want Kelly to help me remember what the other man looked like. And then I'll get them together and _slaughter_ them at once." Her voice darkened.

Zuko's breath hitched in his throat.

* * *

><p>That night, the Painted Lady marched into a 24-Hour convenience store, with bright lights staring at her and the security cameras getting her image as she whipped a gun out of the back of her trousers and aimed it at the clerk without a word. She held up her other hand and motioned for him to give something to her.<p>

The clerk, a man, might I add, screamed a like a girl.

The Painted Lady laughed cruelly, before motioning again for him to give her the money. She had places to go, people to rob … she had no time to wait around for a man to scream like a pussy. The clerk raised his hands above his head and shut his eyes tightly, his fingers trembling and a dark piss stain growing down between his legs. The Painted Lady gave a groan at his insolence, cursing that she was unable to speak, lest her voice be recognized.

The gun in her hand aimed again, at something beside the clerk, whose till was conveniently already open. She pulled the trigger with her leather-clad hand and the shot was fired at the fuse box behind him. The lights went out, the till froze open. She lifted a leg and kicked one of the stands; a vegetable produce stand.

The clerk gave a woeful gasp. "My cabbages!" he squeaked in the dark, but then went deadly silent, staring past her at something on the other side of the store. He swallowed hard and looked back to the Painted Lady as if trying to make calculations.

The Painted Lady took a few steps toward the clerk and gestured to the powerless till again. _'Fucking idiot. I've robbed kids more intelligent than this-' _A finger tapped on her shoulder from behind. She gave a long, exasperated groan. Great; of all the times for him to make his grand return. She kept her eyes trained on the clerk, her mind racing as to her options.

Distraction hit her like a bus when the Blue Spirit, (she knew it was him, only a fool would try it otherwise), snaked a hand from behind her, onto her waist. She swallowed as her mouth went dry. Her brows came down as she tried to concentrate on the clerk. She stiffened at the touch of the man behind her. It was gentle, but firm. She blinked a few times in confusion.

From behind her, the Blue Spirit silently enjoyed his effect on her. Yes, it was revenge, but not the kind Katara wished to deploy. The kind his friend wished to inflict was death, possibly torture. It would be just as bad for her own soul to do as it would for the killers to feel. He tried to stop thinking about Katara, and just focus on the Painted Lady. His free hand went to the other side of her waist and she bristled at the touch.

His eyes followed up slender, yet muscular, tanned arms, to her hands, to the gun, as if he were willing it to fall from the small hands in gloves just a little bit too large for them- The Blue Spirit felt his stomach drop. The gloves fit the Painted Lady, true enough, but her fingers were just a little bit shorter than those of the gloves, leaving bulges at the tips of her fingers.

The only person he knew with hands like that was Katara.

"Katara?" he whispered in her ear, almost panicked.

The Painted Lady's bright blue eyes widened in her mask, and she looked sideways as if trying to see his face through his mask. His voice … that raspy voice. "Z-Zuko?" she whispered back carefully, staying completely still with his hands on her waist.

Both distracted by each other, neither noticed the clerk pull a handgun from a spring clip beneath the counter. He clapped back the hammer and pulled the trigger with shaking hands, as he aimed at the distracted Painted Lady. It was a terrible aim, as he'd been hoping to get her through her chest and the bullet had ripped through her side, only narrowly missing the Blue Spirit's hand.

The gun fell from Katara's hand with a sickening clack on the ground. She doubled over in the Blue Spirit's tightening grip on her, her hands groping for her side. The Blue Spirit's hand was the first to try and stop the bleeding, and then she grasped with one hand, the one over the hole in her body, and the other on his other hand. Her body screamed at him 'don't let me go'.

"No!" the Blue Spirit heard himself shout as he cradled her form to himself. She was falling; he was holding her up. He could feel her hot blood seeping through his glove to his hand. He gripped her tight and tugged her a few feet toward the door. If he could get her to his Uncle's house, maybe Lu Ten could help her.

The clerk dropped the gun and screamed again. He turned and tried to turn the lights on so he could see what was going on, but he remembered that the fuse box was destroyed. When he turned around, both masked figures were gone.

* * *

><p>"Open up!" Zuko pounded the door with one fist, his other arm wrapped securely around Katara, who was weakly gripping the fabric on his arm, trying to keep herself up. "Uncle!" he shouted out, before smashing his fist against the door again. It swung open and his uncle stood there with a medical pack in hand. He looked surprised when he saw the Blue Spirit's supposed enemy.<p>

"Nephew-,"

"Where's Lu Ten?" Zuko snapped sharply, cutting him off. He gripped Katara around the waist, tugging her into the house roughly. He didn't want to be so rough, but if the bleeding didn't stop soon, she was going to die. He couldn't let her die. She'd have been fine if he hadn't distracted her.

"He's asleep-,"

"Well, wake him up!" Zuko kicked the front door shut. He slid his arm under Katara's and tugged her up a little more. She was mostly limp, barely conscious. Zuko jacked both arms under her, one under her back and the other under her legs, and lifted her from the floor. He looked to his uncle again. **"Wake him up!"** he bellowed desperately, his voice cracking.

Iroh disappeared into the house as Zuko carried his friend into the living room, where not so long ago they'd spent the night. He laid her gently on the couch, before darting to the light switch and turning it on. He pulled off his own mask and tossed it aside, onto the recliner, pushing back his hood and letting his head loose. He gently undid Katara's and saw her struggling to keep heavy eyelids open. "Z- …" she paused and took a breath. "Zuko …" She breathed his name, her blue eyes managing to focus on his gold ones.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Katara." Zuko felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"M- … my phone." She swallowed the blood in her mouth and winced. "… My therapist … surgeon … Kelly …" she brought her brows down hard.

Zuko saw the bulge in the pocket of her leather pants and pulled out her phone. He searched through the contacts and saw a Dr. Kelly Glassman, immediately pressing the green button to call her. It rang twice before Kelly picked up. _'Katara, do you know what time it is-,"_

"This isn't Katara. I'm her friend, Zuko. Long story short, she's been shot." Zuko explained quickly, but clearly.

Kelly paused on the phone. _'Like, with a gun?"_

"_Yes, _with a gun." Zuko answered sharply. "She says you're a surgeon."

"_Tell me where you are." _Zuko heard Kelly's duvet rustling against itself as if she were getting up.

"Coastal Park; it's the one with the stupid festival lantern thingies on the front lawn." Zuko explained bitterly.

"_Alright. I know the one. I can be there in five minutes. I'm literally getting in the car right now." _Zuko heard keys jingling.

"Thank you." Zuko sighed, hanging up. He looked back to Katara as he sat down next to her. He raised a hand and put it on her head, pushing back some loose bangs from her face. He stroked her hair with a flat palm. "Katara, talk to me. Don't go to sleep." he cradled her face gently on both sides with his bloody hands.

Katara let out a tiny whimper. "… What do … what do you want me to say, Zuko?" She breathed her words.

"Tell me about the robberies. Tell me how much fun you had messing with me." He tried some humor, but it came out in a forced, worried voice that he hadn't heard on himself before.

The corners of Katara's mouth twitched up briefly. "I … had fun … messing with you." She drew in a deep breath, tasting her own blood on her lips. "I couldn't … handle it. I lost … control …"

Zuko's thumb brushed at her forehead. He felt tears on his face, strange against the skin of his scar. "Katara …"

"I forgive you."

Zuko took her hand in one of his. "You don't have to." He squeezed her cold hand.

"I forgive you." She repeated, this time slower, as if she were falling asleep. Her eyes fell closed and her mouth ceased moving. Zuko's eyes widened as he pressed his fingers under her neck to check her pulse. Her heart still beat. Her blood still ran through her body.

He lowered his head and stroked her hair, shutting his eyes. This was his fault. If she hadn't been distracted … if she had only seen the gun, maybe she could've shot the clerk first. If she had seen the clerk grab for the spring clip … if only. Revenge was a two-headed viper; as you watched your enemy go down, you were poisoned yourself.

"Holy shit." Lu Ten spoke, as he walked into the living room. "Is that the Painted Lady?"

"It's Katara." Zuko answered coldly. "Her therapist is on the way; she's a surgeon, apparently."

Lu Ten gave a nod, considering the sardonic reply '_good to know you trust me_', but decided against it; he was just an intern. He was the best intern in the hospital, but he was still just an intern, and he was nowhere near ready for a solo surgery, let alone one in his house. "Alright, good. What's her BP?"

"What?"

"Blood pressure."

"I don't know. She just _passed out_." Zuko growled roughly.

There was a fierce knock on the door, relentless and determined. Zuko heard the door open; his uncle must've answered it. His uncle gave some cheesy greeting before Zuko heard the woman burst in and push past his uncle. "Where is she?" he heard her ask sharply, before the door into the living room opened and a tanned woman with a jaw-length, curly bob of classy burgundy hair and dainty glasses over brown eyes. She looked tired and worried, and her smart, crisp white ruffled work shirt was only half tucked into her gray jeans.

She held a large kit of surgical supplies in a certified container at her side. Zuko only noticed it as she approached. Kelly looked down at Katara and pulled a face at the paling girl. She didn't look good. If she didn't work fast, a transfusion would be needed, and that meant a hospital would also be needed. Judging by the unmistakable mask of the Painted Lady thrown aside into the recliner at the other side of the room, she'd realized Katara was that crusader, but had no time now to be surprised.

She also figured that the boy with the swords on his back, and the scar on his eye, was the Blue Spirit, whose mask was strewn with the Painted Lady's mask. These kids had more in common than she'd thought.

"Okay." She whispered to herself, her eyes scanning around for anything that could be used as a makeshift operating table. Her eyes settled on the panicked boy sitting beside Katara. He was going to be a problem; he was way too attached to Katara to behave logically and objectively in her OR. So to speak. "Alright, _you_, out." She pointed to him firmly.

"No way-," he protested, only to be cut off.

"I said _**out**._" Kelly repeated herself in a hard, unyielding voice that nobody could've argued with. She spotted the old man who'd answered the door for her, nearing the boy. "Can you get him out of here, please?" she asked pleadingly. She was polite because she had rather rudely burst into his house.

Iroh nodded. "Zuko." He said simply.

"Uncle-,"

"For **fuck's** sake!" Lu Ten yelled, before lunging for Zuko and shoving him at Iroh. "Just get the **fuck** out! You're _only_ going to hinder things!" he exclaimed sharply. Zuko planted his feet onto the floor to keep from hitting the wall, turned and stared at his cousin. "Dad, get him **out** of here." Lu Ten looked to his father, who took Zuko by the forearm and led him out.

Zuko just stared at Katara, without fighting against his uncle. The door clicked shut and Kelly looked to Lu Ten. "And you are?" she asked quickly, her eyes trained on Katara as she tried to figure out how to get at the wound through her side.

"I'm just an intern, but I figure four hands are better than two." Lu Ten answered carefully.

Kelly smirked. "I like you." She looked to the other side of the room and saw a large, long table near the wall. "That should make an adequate operating table. Quick, bring it over here." She motioned to the young man.

* * *

><p>Zuko paced. He paced until his legs were sore, and then paced some more, until his uncle finally forced him to sit in the kitchen and drink a tall cup of chamomile tea, which supposedly had calming effects that Zuko did not experience at this time. He drummed his fingers on the kitchen table and stared into the middle distance, his free hand under his chin.<p>

"Speak, nephew. You have been silent for near three hours now." Iroh sat in front of Zuko, interlocking his hands and fingers together calmly.

"I don't know what to _say_." Zuko breathed stoically.

"You could perhaps enlighten an old man as to how the girl ended up in such a situation …" Iroh began carefully.

Zuko was quiet for a short few moments. "I distracted her. She was robbing a convenience store, and I thought it would be funny to distract her the way she distracted me. Neither of us saw the clerk pull the gun-," he stopped himself and looked down, moving the hand under his chin to cover his eyes and squeeze at his temples. He couldn't continue.

Iroh gave a slow nod. "Guilt is hard to overcome alone, Zuko. You will make amends with your friend when she awakes."

"You mean _if _she awakes." Zuko rasped out, before swallowing hard at the lump in his throat. He wouldn't cry. Not yet. Katara would need him to be strong for her. "If she recovers from my mistake."

"She will. I do not know her as well as you do, but I know she is strong, and I know she will fight if need be." Iroh shut his eyes for a long blink. "You should rest."

"Not until … not …" he stopped. What was he waiting for? For them to come out and announce she was dead? Or for them to say she was going to be completely fine? "Not until they're done." He cleared his throat hoarsely.

* * *

><p>Katara's eyes fluttered open; she saw the early morning sun pouring into Zuko's uncle's bedroom; she figured she'd had to have been brought here to heal. She was overwhelmed by a distinct feeling of discomfort in her chest. She felt like the world had moved on overnight and she'd been left behind, just like Kelly had said. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished for things to go back to normal. She didn't like this new world. It was a world where the voices were faint whispers in the back of her mind, and the Spaniard was not lurking like death, and she didn't lust for the feeling of power she experienced when robbing people's stores; their life's work.<p>

She had been reborn as herself again. She felt like the evils done to her had briefly been laid to rest. She didn't know what her mind was to ponder on without revenge. Without hurt, or anger, or despair, she didn't know where to put herself. _'Zuko.' _Someone whispered in her ear. It had to have been the long absent angel who had once resided on a shoulder of hers.

She was reminded of how her friend had dragged her through blizzard-plagued streets in the middle of the night to get her somewhere safe, where her wounds could be addressed. She remembered his shouting in anguish as she sank into his grip. His voice hopeless, despondent, desperate. She remembered her own ragged breaths on his shoulder as he'd carried her. She remembered the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

She didn't like this new world; her blanket of darkness and misery had been ripped off and now she was unshielded. She was unshielded from the emotions that raced through her veins. Emotions for Zuko. Gratitude, forgiveness … love. She felt pain in her side; so much that she let out a long moan of excruciation, her brows coming down hard.

A heavy thump forced her to open her eyes. She managed to turn her head; Zuko was picking himself off of the floor by the small window seat. He rubbed his sore neck tiredly, giving it away that he had slept there. Katara let a smile onto her face, despite her pain. He met her eyes with a relieved smile. "You're awake." He exhaled, as if he'd been holding his breath all night.

"You say it like you're surprised. Or disappointed." She joked tiredly, blinking slowly. She took in his image; he was shaven, showered, clean and kempt. He looked like this spell of depression had never entered his life, like no loss of trust had torn his soul apart. He looked untouched by the evils of the world. The morning sun radiated off his porcelain skin, and his golden eyes gleamed in relief.

"I'm not disappointed. I'm happy. I'm glad you're okay." Zuko approached the bed and sat down beside her. She looked better than she had in weeks; those blue eyes were sparkling again, and her loose hair fell on the pillow around her head like luscious brown waves of the ocean. Her face was soft despite her pain and she was smiling.

"I should explain." Katara looked away from her friend for a moment, the corners of her mouth tipping down.

"You don't have to." Zuko put a hand on hers. And that was fine. Zuko, exhausted, fell asleep beside his friend and peace was restored for a short while. They slept like death itself and no worries at all poked at their minds, no insecurities or unease slithered into their hearts. Everything else had changed to something new and strange, but they had returned to sleeping in the same bed, they had returned to their friendship, and they had returned to one another.

They were delivered from ruin.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, that was the darkest chapter yet, but sometimes darkness is needed so as to appreciate the light. Whoa, I've been reading too much. And YAY, I got my first hater-review! Either a Maiko or Kataang nut, but whatever, same difference. This is the review I got:**

one word blaj blaj blaj its horrible zutara will never be face it all of you zutara is hideos makes me wanna throw my stomach out

**Now, observe as my supreme literary skills pluck this apart limb from limb. **

_**First of all, blaj blaj blaj is three words, not 'one word'. No, it's not horrible; it just doesn't appeal to you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and as a result nothing is good or bad. Who is to say Zutara hasn't already been? After all, Zuko was originally meant to be Katara's love interest, though I stress more that if it is in the minds of the fans, then it is real. Zutara can't be 'hideos' because they are both well drawn and look great together. And you are welcome to throw your stomach out if you can find the tools and assistance necessary to do that. SUCK ON THAT. And thanks for the review, you just made me have one more review than I did before, and that's what fanfiction writers collect, genius.**_

**I love myself a little too much. It bothers me how people do this anonymously. Anyway, Lydia's gonna get it soon, don't worry! I can't say much more, 'cause I'm afraid of giving away my plan … YOU'RE IN MY MIIIIINNNDDDD!**

**REVIEWS WILL BRING YOU THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	16. Bounty

It was two short weeks before Kelly told Katara it was alright to start walking around, as long as she didn't take on anything like leaving Iroh's house or trying to go to school. It was a struggle to walk after two weeks in bed, with Zuko bringing her tea and food, and having to help her to her feet to the en-suite. But eventually, Katara managed to get down the stairs alone. She was proud of this, despite that she'd had Zuko and Lu Ten standing at the bottom of the stair just in case she fell.

What they would do if she _did_ fall, she had no clue.

She was proud that she managed to sit at the table to eat her food. Not that she hadn't enjoyed her time in bed; while Zuko was in school and Lu Ten was at work, Iroh would bring food and tell her amazing stories of his travels to China, Japan, India, France, Italy … who knew where the old man had been in his life. Then, Zuko would get there and bring her another meal, and fill her in on what she had missed at school. Then when Zuko had to go out at night as the Blue Spirit, Lu Ten would come to tell her all Zuko's embarrassing baby stories.

Kelly had apparently gone to see Hakoda and explain everything, and had brought the Painted Lady's mask to illustrate her story. Understandably, he was upset, but he trusted his friend to look after his daughter, for now. Sokka was the harder one to get it across to. Zuko had been quite surprised that Hakoda hadn't told Sokka why his sister was missing; he was just assuring her she was okay and that she'd be home in a few weeks.

Later, after Kelly's daily visit to check on Katara, and after school, Zuko appeared in his uncle's room, which was temporarily Katara's, as Lu Ten allowed his father to take one of the bunk beds in his room. Katara was reading 'The Waste Lands'. Zuko approached with a large paper bag of something, looking thoughtfully to the television on the far side of the room.

"Hey." Katara looked up from her book and closed it. "What's in the bag?" she eyed it carefully. Last time he'd brought a large paper bag, it had been filled with intensely spicy curry, one of Zuko's favorites, that Katara had forced down to be polite.

Zuko grinned happily. "Movies. I got tons of them; Princess Bride, that pirate movie with Johnny Depp, Back To The Future, Beetlejuice, Beverly Hills Cop …" he trailed off, dropping onto the bed and dumping the bag out. "… Die Hard, Terminator, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Pacific Heights …"

"Where did you get all this?" Katara put her book on the bedside table and reached for the DVD's. Some were rather dusty and aged, with worn plastic corners on their cases. Most were videocassettes, only a few were DVD's, and all had some element of age-wornness.

"Toph gave them to me. She said you'd go crazy if you had to sit in bed all day reading." Zuko shrugged in thought. Only now had it occurred to him that perhaps Toph was just giving away her parents stuff to be a jerk. That would explain why she'd brought a much of movies to school without knowing anyone would want them.

"She has a point. Wait, how did she know I was here?" Katara raised an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth twitching downward. "Are you talking about me again?" she asked half-jokingly.

Zuko shook his head, gave a brief, awkward smile and explained carefully. "She already knows I'm the Blue Spirit. She saw the CCTV footage of you getting shot and from there it kind of spilled out." He plucked a videocassette from the pile of movies and showed it to her. "Look, I even got The Young Frankenstein."

Katara smiled at him briefly, before her face fell. "Zuko, I want to ask you something."

"Sure." Zuko brought his brows down and put the movie back on the pile of others. He didn't like the sound of this.

"When I'm better … when I'm healed, I'm going to find the men who killed my mother." She lowered her head. "I was seeing a therapist because … because I was hearing them. In my head. I was even seeing one of them, following me. Kelly said it was because I'd repressed the memories."

He made a face; so that had been what was bothering her. Voices. He shook his head and finished for her. "You want me to help you." He stated dryly. "You want me to help you kill them." He swallowed the dryness in his throat. The words felt wrong on his tongue.

Katara shut her eyes and gave a small breath. "It sounds a lot worse than-,"

"It's murder. It can't possibly be worse than it sounds." Zuko looked away from her, painful consideration on his face.

"They killed my mother, Zuko. They can't just get away with it." she frowned, unyielding.

"You're just going to be the same? You're going to stoop to your level?" Zuko snapped harshly.

Katara's face twisted into disgust. "Don't pull that bullshit; that might work with name-calling in daycare, but it won't work with this. They've hurt me too much for me to just let them off." She reached out and grabbed his muscular upper arm. "Zuko, you know you'd do the same if it was _your _mother. And you know I'd help you if it was you mother. Because I know how much your mom means to you."

Zuko gave a grunt of indecision. She was going to go even if he refused to help her. Zuko looked back to her and caught a glimpse of desperation in her cerulean eyes. She was right; he would kill a man who killed his mother. He didn't know why he hadn't been able to beat the man who'd beat his mother, if that was the logic he was going by. "I'll think about it." He answered through an indefinite breath.

"Alright." Katara agreed. All she could ask was that he think about it. It was time to talk about something else. "Now tell me what's going on at school."

Zuko shrugged. "Lydia's flaring up like some kind of a rash. She had a go at Ty Lee, who just burst out crying. Azula told her to back off, then Mai called her a needy poser whore and Lydia just _lunged _for her. Me and Jet had to peel them apart." Zuko raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think it's a good thing your not in school right now, shot or un-shot. She's taking it out on everyone else 'cause she can't get at you."

Katara gave a long sigh. "There are some fucking crazy people out there."

"Look who's talking." Zuko smirked.

* * *

><p>Lydia sat on her bed, thinking. She wanted Zuko back. Not because she loved him, or because she enjoyed his company, but purely because she hated to lose something she deemed to be hers. She wasn't going to lose <em>her <em>man to that vile, unpleasant blue-eyed bitch. Zuko was _Lydia's, _and no prudish goody-goody could snatch him up from her. How on earth could she get him back?

"_Can I ask you a question?" Lydia ran her hand across Zuko's bare, soft-skinned, hard-muscled chest._

"_Depends on the question, I guess." Zuko drew in some smoke from his cigarette, sat up in Lydia's bed with his back against the dozens of purely decorative cushions. He recalled he'd always hated the idea of decorative shit with no purpose or practical use, but he didn't want to alienate Lydia so early in their relationship._

"_Why do you even try to make up with that … that idiotic little bitch, when all she does is snap back and tell you to fuck yourself?" Lydia asked quite innocently._

_Zuko grunted in thought. Katara hadn't actually told him to fuck himself in so many words, but essentially, in all ways possible, she had tried to tell him to. "Out of respect for the friendship we have, or used to have, I can't just throw her away and say 'good riddance'. Honor demands I at least try to make up with her."_

"_Honor?" Lydia snorted an incredulous laugh. "This isn't 1852, you don't have to be __**received**__ by any well-mannered families…"_

_Zuko let out a brief laugh. "Honor's important to me, and my family for that matter. It has been for hundreds of years. Not that anyone has much honor these days anyhow…" he trailed off in thought. He knew his father had little to no honor._

"_Alright … so what's your definition of honor?"_

_Zuko looked to the ceiling, taking his cigarette from his mouth and pondering this. "Honor is … doing the right thing. It wasn't honorable for me to tell you about Katara's suicide attempt." He looked back to her, bringing the cigarette to his mouth again and drawing up some tobacco._

_Lydia rolled her eyes. "She'd probably tell her boyfriend if you'd tried to commit suicide." She looked elsewhere._

_Zuko gave a nervous laugh._

"_Tell me more about honor. What's dishonorable in your book?" her green eyes settled on his gold ones._

_Zuko looked out the window and took a breath of air to mix with his smoke. "Divorced men who don't pay child support. That's dishonorable." He screwed his face up in disgust. "That makes my skin crawl. And those girls who dump their kids in dumpsters." he pointed at something invisible in the middle distance._

_Lydia's eyes narrowed in concentration. "You're very family-oriented, aren't you?" she thought aloud._

_Zuko shrugged as best he could in his current position. "Maybe."_

"Mummy?" Lydia asked loudly, bursting into her mother's office. Her mother, Katherine Roberts, who had shoulder-length, layered blonde hair and hazel eyes, a few frown lines here and there, was sitting at the desk, facing Lydia. A slightly older gentleman, with dark grey eyes and sandy blonde hair combed back formally, in a navy blue suit and red tie, sat opposite Katherine. "Oh, good. You're both here."

Katherine sat straight and smiled briefly at her daughter. "Is there something we can do for you, darling?" she looked to Dr. Mason thoughtfully. Katherine was a scientist working for a company that went by the name of Cures USA, where they focused on curing incurable diseases, developing new therapies and things of the sort.

Dr. Mason was her lab partner, and secret lover. Although Katherine and her husband had agreed to live on separate sides of the world, Dominic Roberts, her husband, loved her very much, and the only condition of his keeping her on his payroll had been that she not get romantically involved with another man.

"Yes, there is. You two are going to help me fake a pregnancy, or Daddy's going to find out about your little romance."

* * *

><p>After one more week, Katara was allowed to go home and back to school, provided Zuko stick close to her and make sure if she began to bleed out, as Lu Ten had put it, the wound was packed and she was immediately dragged out of school and brought back to Iroh's house, whether or not it meant committing grand theft auto. Of course, Kelly had said if it hadn't already bled out by now, it wasn't going to. It was a Thursday the day she went back, and the day Lydia started trouble.<p>

Katara was still getting used to being on her feet again, and Zuko often had offered his arm to help her balance herself. At this time, however, as she was approaching their table with Zuko beside her, she refused his offer. She welcomed her friends' greetings with a warm smile.

"Katara!" Sokka squeaked happily, shooting up from his seat. He let a toothy smile erupt on his face.

"Hey, Sugar Queen, long time no see." Toph turned in her seat to grin at her friend.

Suki and Aang exchanged relieved glances; they'd thought Katara had died after getting shot. "Good to have you back, Katara." Suki smiled softly.

"It's good to be back." She replied genially, taking a few more steps toward the table with Zuko keeping a watchful eye on her.

Suddenly an ill-meaning voice filled the gaang's ears, posh and heartless as the marble face on a front-gate gargoyle. The reserved, cold intensity of a serial killer's thoughts aloud rang in the voice of the speaker. "And where have _you_ been?" Lydia resounded over all other sounds.

Zuko was sure he saw Katara freeze into a statuesque stillness. Katara turned after a long, silent transfixion and met Lydia's dark green eyes. Lydia's face lit up at the sight of Katara's feeble demeanor. Zuko answered for his friend. "She's been out." He snapped seriously. "Keep your nose out of other people's business." He spat viciously.

Lydia rolled her eyes before fixing her sights on Zuko. "You shouldn't state the obvious; it makes you look unintelligent. Then again, that train's already left the station."

Toph stood up and took her place at Katara's side. "The phrase is 'that ship has sailed', idiot. And look who's making cracks about peoples intelligence."

Green eyes narrowed at the shorter girl, before Lydia looked back to Zuko. "Whatever. And is that any way to speak to the woman carrying your child, Zuko?" she let a full-fledged grin take over her face. It personified the words _'Try getting rid of me now'._

Zuko's face fell. Heads turned from every corner of the cafeteria. Silence fell over the whole room, and Lydia just basked in the attention. Katara swallowed the cold, dry ice cube of a lump in her throat and looked to Zuko, who was the palest she had ever seen him. Even Toph, who almost always had something to say, was silent. Aang stood and looked on, just as Sokka and Suki did.

Zuko wanted to run. He wanted to run and run and never stop running until he knew he didn't have to grow up already. "Y-you're lying." His voice faltered.

"Am I?" she reached into her shoulder bag and produced an official sheet of paper with typed writing on it. "See for yourself." She glanced to Katara. Her grin had disappeared, but the glint in her eyes was enough to unsettle the blue-eyed girl. She outstretched the paper to Zuko, who took it, turned it and stared at the words.

It was a letter from a Dr. Mason, written to Lydia's mother with unfortunate news of her daughter's pregnancy. Zuko gave the paper back to Lydia and lifted a hand to his face. With one hand, he covered both eyes and rubbed at them tensely. There was some kind of support from Katara's gripping his arm. Her touch told him 'be strong'.

"Do the honorable thing, Zuko." Lydia broke into 'feel bad for me' mode.

Zuko brought his brows down hard. "I … I need to think." He stepped backward, pulling free of Katara's grip.

"Of course." Lydia nodded, feigning understanding.

Zuko turned away from her and marched out of the cafeteria, into the open air of the car park. It was a rare occasion in February where the sun shone, and he had appreciated it until now. His mind raced. A child. A baby, to be precise. _Lydia's _baby. His feet carried him to his bike and he gripped one of the handlebars for support. He leant against the bike and buried his face in his hands. "Fuck." He groaned into his hands, pressing them into his eye sockets.

Maybe he was just one of those people who had bad luck for their whole lives until finally they got run down in the middle of a highway while running across it in flip-flops and swimming trunks, hopped up on high levels of cocaine, speed and acid that they'd consumed to get over their lifetime of fails. He had to do the right thing. Honor demanded no less.

"Zuko." A softer voice, tentative and gentle, carried on the soft zephyr of winter.

He looked up. Katara was approaching with her brows up in concern. "Hey." He rasped brokenly.

"Are you okay?" she swallowed hard.

Zuko's eyes fell back to the ground. "Do I look okay?" he answered sharply.

Katara was taken aback. She couldn't figure out if he was trying to alienate her now for reasons Kelly could've explained but she couldn't possibly hope to. Zuko looked up and saw her bring her brows down in confusion. He realized the cold tone in his voice and gave a brief sigh.

"I'm sorry … I didn't mean to snap at you." He shook his head slowly, his mind racing in unkempt, frazzled tangents of thought. His golden eyes settled on those of his best friend. "What am I supposed to **do** here?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice, like that of a frightened child.

Katara shut her eyes in a long blink, before leaning against the bike too. "I guess you do the right thing." She exhaled tensely.

"And what's that?" he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Get back with Lydia, marry her, start a family? Just because it's the right thing to do? I don't love her. I don't want to marry someone I don't love, and I don't want to raise a child at all, let alone in a loveless marriage at the age of eighteen-,"

Katara put her hand on his forearm, effectively ending his terrified rant. Her dark hand was soft on his pale arm, warm with a firm grip on him. She spoke hopefully. "Maybe you'll get lucky … maybe you won't ever fall in love, and you won't know what you're missing." She heard her own voice crack, on the edge of tears herself. She couldn't possibly imagine the split between morals in Zuko. He was a man true to his heart, and also true to his honor.

Zuko felt his stomach twist. _'Oh, I already know what love is. I know what I'll be missing. I'm not lucky. I'm in love with __**her.' **_His mind knotted itself in his head. "I'm never lucky." He shut his eyes for a long time, biting his tongue to keep from biting his lip; Katara would see him bite his lip, and the Zuko she knew never showed any kind of weakness. He was strong when she needed strength, wise when she needed knowledge.

And she was always the same for him.

Katara squeezed his arm in her soft hand. He looked up and watched as a cool winter breeze took her hair from her face, and the winter sun gleamed on her breathtaking face. He had to shut his eyes to block out her beauty. Honor demanded no less of a man effectively betrothed to another.

* * *

><p>Katara had decided that shot or un-shot, she would drink tonight. Not drink with, but drink to Zuko. To his courage, and his honor. She would drink until she was unable to wake up the next morning, and then she would drink a little more. She was headed to Sokka's car, where he would drive her, Aang, Suki and Toph all down to Vinny's and they would all order ice-cream sodas in honor of Zuko, no pun intended.<p>

"Yes, mummy, as soon as I've got him, you can stop worrying." A smug voice filled the air. If Katara had less respect for Zuko's sister, she'd think it were Azula.

Katara stopped on her journey down the hallway. Her face screwed up in confusion. That voice. That … android, alien voice that brought only chaos and destruction was speaking to 'Mummy', who, as it sounded like, she was blackmailing. Katara looked about and saw out the ground floor hallway window that Lydia Roberts was standing around in the parking lot on the phone. _'As soon as she's __**got **__him?' _Lydia was … Lydia was _using _her mother to get Zuko back?

Katara sucked herself against the wall between the window and the door into the parking lot, listening in.

"And tell Charles that his letter was very helpful. Don't worry, Mummy, I know what I'm doing." Lydia let out a long, self-satisfied laugh, crude and evil, that both boiled Katara's blood and turned her stomach. She hung up and tucked her iPhone into her pocket and approached the silver Mercedes sedan to her left.

'_The letter was just a prop in the game she's playing. And Zuko's the prize. I guess that makes you the evil dragon …' _the devil on Katara's shoulder rubbed at her horns in pure astonishment. The blue-eyed girl swung herself around the wall, out into the parking lot, and braced her feet into the ground as best she could on the tarmac, her arms at her sides like a superhero readying themselves to suck up the energy in the air around them for some epic attack. "You're unbelievable!" she yelled across the parking lot.

Lydia turned and stared. She cursed herself; only a fool would've made that phone call in the parking lot. Little did she know, Katara hadn't been the only one who'd heard the little phone call. On a floor above, Mai Tamesis leant out of a window and watched as Katara Marina yelled at Lydia Roberts. "How so?" Lydia crossed her arms with a large handbag dangling from one hand.

"You're faking a pregnancy to get Zuko back!" Katara threw her arms up wildly, her eyes widening to the point that Lydia saw the whites of them. "How dare you screw him around like this?" she shouted ferociously, balling her fists at her sides.

Lydia frowned. "Perhaps you get the idea that one of the rules of love is the classic 'he was mine first' rule. Well, think again." She adjusted her hold on the bag.

Katara tilted her head in confusion. She shook off her dubiety and continued. "Firstly, there is _no _love between you and Zuko, he told me himself just today, and I bit back the urge to come and tell you out of respect for the fact that he might have been spending the rest of his fuckin' life with you. Secondly, where the _fuck _did you get the idea I thought he was _mine first_?" she stamped her foot, demanding answers.

Lydia scoffed. "Oh, please, with the way you stare at him _longingly_, it's so fucking obvious …" she rolled her eyes. "Hell if a single person in school doubts you adore him."

Katara's eyes widened in her head, and she felt her pulse rise. Obvious? How many people knew? She shut her eyes and shook her head; no. Lydia was playing with her mind. She couldn't let her know she'd hit a tender nerve.

"Don't give me that look." Lydia raised an eyebrow.

Katara's face was the picture of defensiveness. "You're so full of shit!" she yelled out warily, tossing her head defiantly and looking away from Lydia.

Mai's eyes above widened. Was Katara _defensive? _She gripped the window ledge and looked on. The blue-eyed girl really _did _like Zuko. She was as surprised at this as she was that Lydia had made a valid and correct assumption. She'd taken Lydia for a fool. Maybe that was the blonde's ruse; she came on as an unintelligent half-witted bimbo, when she secretly toyed with your mind while you weren't looking.

"Am I?" Lydia simply asked, two words enough to unnerve anyone.

"Yeah! You're making up bullshit left right and center! Zuko is going to be _pissed _when he finds out!" Katara screamed at the blonde girl, burying her forearm and hand in her bag, searching inside it so vigorously she was most likely breaking things inside it. "I'll tell him _right _now!" she promised.

Lydia's face was still as statue. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Katara looked up from her bag and glared at Lydia, her phone dangling from her hand, and her face in a hard, twisted up expression of disgust. "Yeah, like you can stop me." Her hands were sweaty with anger, and she glanced to her side to check she hadn't strained herself into bleeding out; Zuko was gone home, or to kick ass, or to his uncle's, or something, so she couldn't rely that if she bled out she'd be okay.

"Put the phone down." Lydia dropped her bag to the ground. She wouldn't be reduced to begging; so force was all that was left; and besides, Katara was shorter, and a year younger than Lydia. She let her crossed arms fall to her sides, fists balled at her sides. For a posh, uppity bitch, Katara remembered she packed a punch. But the Painted Lady could handle some uppity bitch any day.

Katara brought her fists up in a stance. "You want to dance, ugly? Go for it. See if you get away with it this time." She growled out darkly, a smirk of challenge writing itself on her face. Shot or un-shot, she knew she could take this bitch. She knew it; one on one, Lydia would go down like a sack of bricks.

Lydia took two long strides toward Katara, not bothering to get in stance, reeled back her arm and threw a half-assed punch at Katara, as if expecting her superpowers to magically come on and help he. Katara grabbed Lydia's flying arm by the wrist, and she turned it around, tugging it behind the blonde's back. Lydia forced her other elbow back and got Katara in her uninjured side, forcing her to let go of Lydia.

Lydia _unintentionally _bumped the trunk of her car open while stepping back from Katara. She advanced on her junior and grabbed for the brown tresses that danced in the wind. Katara ducked aside, out of Lydia's arm's path, and pushed the blonde's arms apart, to bring the heel of her hand hard against Lydia's chest, knocking her back again. She recalled Zuko had taught her that move. He'd have gone crazy if he knew it was being used against the girl he thought to be mothering his kid.

Lydia suddenly froze, gasped and stared at something behind Katara, who remembered this prank, but muscle memory, force of habit and a bunch of other reasons she could use to forgive herself for falling for it, made her look over her shoulder, as Lydia grabbed for the inside of the trunk of her car. When Katara looked again, a tire iron was coming right at her.

"Agh!" Katara yelled, grabbing the iron in mid-air, even though it hurt the fuck out of her hand. "You crazy bitch!" she grunted out as she tried to pry the iron from Lydia's hands. It was no use however; Lydia's grip on the iron was too strong.

Lydia somehow managed to get behind Katara and pull the tire iron against Katara's neck, even as the younger girl forced against it with both hands. Katara was hacking out and choking threats, but Lydia's grip was firm. Green eyes settled on the necklace on Katara's slender neck.

'_Lay off about the teddy bear. It's pretty much all she has left of her mom. That and her necklace."_

With reptilian-like teeth, Lydia bit the clasp at the back of Katara's choker, and it came off as she let go of the tire iron with one hand and grasped the necklace.

Katara gasped. "My mother's necklace!" she shouted, even though Lydia was close enough that if she were a vampire, she'd be sucking Katara's blood right about now.

Lydia wound long, claw-like, pale fingers and hot-pink painted fingernails into Katara's hair and formed a fist that pried back on the tresses. "You've seen what I'm willing to do, you filthy little _peasant_. If you say so much as a word to Zuko, I will smash your little necklace into a million pieces. Understand?" she tugged on the Marina girl's hair.

Katara's eyes welled with tears at the pain. She would have tried to nod, but her hair was wound into Lydia's fist.

"_**Understand?" **_Lydia barked in Katara's ear, so close Katara thought she might try and bite her, like a rabid beast awoken from a drunken hibernation. She tightened her grip on the hair in her fist and let anger screw up her face like the snout of a dog about to attack.

Katara cried out in pain. "Alright, alright!" she grunted. How was this even possible? How was she able to take a bullet and not take this silly bitch? She cursed herself, and the importance the necklace held to her, as Lydia let go of her, and tossed the tire iron into her car.

"Good. Get out of the way before I run you over." Lydia spat, turning her back to Katara and pulling the trunk shut.

* * *

><p>Katara was storming away from the school with her head in knots, one of her hands balled up to a fist, the other hand checking her side to see if she'd caused herself to bleed out of her bullet wound. Now she saw why it was harder for Zuko to stand up to his father than it was to stand up to criminal strangers. But surely she could've easily beaten the crap out of Lydia? How would she be able to kill the men who'd killed her mother if she couldn't kick that bimbo's ass?<p>

"Hey, Marina." Someone called from behind her, in a voice that reminded her of Azula, but a tone that reminded her of Zuko.

'_Now what?' _Katara turned with a sour expression. Her face softened at the sight of Mai Tamesis. "Mai." She spoke in surprise.

"Why the fuck did you let her get away with that?" Mai began walking at Katara's side.

Ah; so someone had witnessed her little problem take place. That meant Mai probably knew Lydia was faking the pregnancy, and Mai was asking if she was letting her get away with bullshitting Zuko like that. Katara grunted in confusion. "I don't know." She mumbled out, just loud enough for the Goth girl to hear her.

"Are you going to tell him?" Mai asked sharply. "He should _know _he's not gonna be a dad; you know what his honor is like. He'll get all set up, get a job, and god knows what else to support a baby that doesn't even exist."

"She's got my mother's necklace." Katara replied dryly. "She said she'd break it if I told him."

Mai raised a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, still walking. "You have to tell him."

"He'll find out eventually. Considering the fact she's _not_ _pregnant_." Katara grumbled bitterly.

Mai exhaled heavily. "Is a necklace worth _your guy _marrying someone else?" Mai put her hand on Katara's shoulder while they walked, effectively stopping Katara a few feet in front of her, the blue-eyed girl's back to the older girl.

Katara's blood bubbled in her veins, her eyes fell closed in thought and she drew in a breath so long it gave the white noise on a broken television a run for its money. "He's not _my guy. _And he's not fucking marrying her." she answered adamantly, looking over her shoulder to Mai with determined eyes.

"Not as far as he knows." Mai hissed darkly, looking away from the penetrating stare of Katara's blue eyes and drawing out a pack of cigarettes and lighter from her duster coat pocket. She flicked out a smoke with the expert skill that came from years of smoking and brought it to her lips. She flickered a flame to its end and drew in the tobacco to her lungs. "Isn't there some way you can tell him _and _get your necklace?"

Katara thought about this and continued walking. Mai caught up to her again. "Only if Zuko played it like he didn't know. But it's risky. I have a feeling she has intelligence."

Mai scoffed one of the only laughs Katara had ever heard from her. "Little to none." She exhaled and drew in another breath of smoke. "I can help you get your necklace, if you promise to tell him."

Katara frowned and looked to Mai, still walking, her feet crunching in the sun-lit snow. "How?"

Mai shook her head. "I know every house on Zuko's street. She lives in that _'terrah-cottah adobey caloneyawll' _monstrosity, with that ugly fucking mercedes parked in forget, I live two blocks down the same street. She struts to her car like her driveway is a fucking catwalk; what I'd pay for that serial kidnapper to take her is beyond imaginable..."

Katara stopped in her tracks, turned her head and stared at the goth girl. "She lives in the _what?_"

Mai shrugged as if embarrassed. She usually didn't make fun of people, or laugh, or make jokes, but someone had to have some fun on the back of Lydia Roberts. "Just the way she said it. _Someone_ has to make fun of her fucking accent." she wrote it off.

Katara smiled as if surprised. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

This would be the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: you would not believe what it took for me to get this chapter done. **

**Pingu killed herself trying to get out of her hutch to me, last night. She got her head stuck between one of the walls and a board I stuck in to make it harder for her to jump out, and she choked to death. She was still warm when I brought the bottle to feed her. I asked and she didn't answer, and I asked again as I lifted the roof of her hutch, and her dead open eyes stared at me, blaming. I should never have stuck that stupid thing in. I've been numb all day. Last night, my boyfriend came after I called him and he stayed 'til I fell asleep, while my mom took Pingu's body up to the farm. I can't help but think if I'd stopped watching TV five minutes earlier, she'd still be alive, or if I hadn't put the goddamn board in, she'd have been able to pull free. Shit, man, this whole thing's a freak fuck-up.**

**Anyway, I debated whether to put in yet **_**another **_**plot twist, but I wouldn't put this below that bitch Lydia. I'm working on the next chapter already. Please review, I need a pick-me-up. I know my writing is usually an emotional rollercoaster, but my emotions are just pfft.**


	17. After Eights

Katara stirred her coffee with a cheap plastic spoon, courtesy of 'Cuppa Joe's' coffee house. She was sat on a park bench outside the place, because the coffee house didn't allow smoking inside, and her new companion was puffing like a chimney. "So did Zuko start you up smoking?" Katara asked absently, before taking a sip of her black coffee.

"No. I started him up." Mai rolled her cigarette between her fingers in a trick she'd learnt years ago, at age thirteen. "His dad was beating on him again, I figured he needed something to take his mind off."

Katara bit her lip. "He told you about it, then."

"I know the whole story. Probably more than you do." Mai removed her cigarette from her mouth and took a sip of her own coffee. Katara wondered how she was able to smoke and drink at the same time. "What did he tell you?"

"Just the ins and outs, I guess. Maybe he didn't want to go into detail." Katara thought aloud. "He told me about his mom leaving, how he got his scar …" she trailed off.

"The guy leads a hard life. Which is why it's not fair for Blondie to fuck him over any more." Mai snuffed out her cigarette in the snow that covered one of the park benches arms and locked gazes with Katara.

"So, how do you plan to get my necklace back?" Katara's blue eyes stared into Mai's darker ones. She noted that Mai was wearing blackout contact lenses, possibly for effect. There was something unnerving about them, and she suspected that was the point.

"I know a guy who works for the real estate agency that sold the house to Lydia's father's company seventeen years ago. I can get the blueprints for you. You'll have to find her bedroom and get your necklace, while Zuko takes Lydia out, to eliminate the risk of her walking in and _owning _you again, and I'll have to find a way to distract anyone else in the house." Mai looked down into her coffee.

"One problem; Zuko might not believe us." Katara smacked her chapped lips as the cold air whipped past her. Another freak blizzard would hit tonight, she suspected. "What then?"

Mai nodded thoughtfully. "You make a valid point." She spoke sagely. "Maybe it would be best for Zuko to find the necklace _on _her."

"What, like _wearing _it?" Katara choked on her own voice.

"No, I mean, if he found it in her pocket or something, or it fell out of her bag … he'd know something was up." Mai pulled a face. "It's not surefire. I don't like to do things when they might not work."

Katara gave a thoughtful breath. "So what's step number one?""

Mai raised a hand and fingered her straight black locks. "Someone needs to kick Lydia's ass. This shit has gone on for long enough." She exhaled in annoyance. "You should; it's you she keeps fucking with."

The blue-eyed girl gave a momentary look of reluctance. "No, it's Zuko she's fucking with."

"Yeah, but he's hardly going to hit a girl."

Katara scoffed. _'Yeah, right; the Blue Spirit had cataclysmic qualms about hitting the Painted Lady.' _She thought to herself sarcastically. "Maybe." She nodded pensively. "But if I could kick her ass, I'd have done it earlier."

Mai stood up and let a mischievous smirk onto her face, possibly the only one Katara had ever seen on her. "Which is why you're coming back to my house, where Azula and Ty Lee are waiting for us. By the end of this weekend, you'll be able to kick twelve Asses at the same time."

* * *

><p>Katara got home that night sweaty and happy. Despite the blizzard outside, she had walked into the house with her jacket over her arm and her long-sleeved, baby pink shirt tied around her hips. She plucked at her black under-vest, trying to get some air between sweaty skin and sweaty fabric. A self-satisfied smile adorned her face and unadulterated calm fell on her like night falls over a landscape.<p>

She rubbed the back of her gritty, sweaty neck with the shirt in her hand, and tossed it to the laundry basket by the base of the stairs. All five laundry baskets in the house had collected there; not a single person in the house had managed to figure out the washing machine in her absence. "Dad, I'm…" she stopped herself and listened closely.

Heavy breathing.

Soft whispers.

Guttural grunts of pleasure.

"… Home." She exhaled thoughtfully. She had wanted to forgive him for what she had hoped to be a one-time thing. And really? In the billiard room? She stalked toward the door on the other side of the hallway and pushed it open. What she saw was neither her father nor her brother; both were sexual deviants as far as she was concerned. Katara let out a shout of confusion before covering her eyes. "Aang! Toph! What are you doing here!" she yelled, turning her back to her friends. "Why are you having sex in my house?" she stifled a situational laugh.

Aang was pulling his pants up. He caught himself in his zipper and doubled over, bringing Toph to a laugh as she sat up on the pool table. "Sorry, sugar queen. Sokka told us to wait here for you, but you were gone for three hours, and watching TV can only occupy a person for so long…"

"Yeah." Aang grunted, disappointed at not having been able to relieve the tight ache in his middle. "Plus we hadn't done it on a pool table yet." He managed a joke.

"Alrighty then. Get decent and uh … go somewhere else to fuck like crazy." Katara waved a have dismissively.

Toph looked to Aang. "Aang, you can go home. I have a _proposition_ for Katara." She patted him on the knee. "I'll be home later. Much later."

Katara raised an eyebrow as Aang fled, literally cradling his half-erect member in his hands, though trousered, and waddling away toward the front door. Toph scoffed a tiny evil laugh as he slammed the door behind him, imagining him running across the snow to the sidewalk and then continuing to waddle all the way home. "What's this proposition?" Katara raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I want to know if the Painted Lady's still in business." Toph leant down and grabbed a rucksack from the floor that Katara hadn't noticed until now. It was sort of heavy, though for Toph it was nothing. She hoisted it up and held it in front of her, as if showing it to Katara.

"I don't know; Zuko knows that I'm the Painted Lady." Katara looked aside thoughtfully, reluctance and hesitation seeping into her voice.

"Yeah, like he'll rat you out." Toph rolled her eyes. She knew he wouldn't; after all, he'd gone through all that poetic, romantic bullshit over not deserving her or god knows what else. "The worst you'll have to deal with is combat; considering I heard from Mai Tamesis that Lydia Roberts kicked your ass earlier, pregnant or not." She twisted her face in disappointment; the Painted Lady versus Creepy Blonde Bitch with a Bun in the Oven? The Painted Lady _**had**_ to win that.

Katara grimaced darkly. "Firstly, she had a tire iron, okay? Secondly, she's not pregnant. She's lying to scam Zuko into dating her again. She's using his own honor against him." She grunted out indignantly. Her face flashed angry red for a second.

Toph paused, her green eyes falling on Katara with disbelief written on her face. "Are you _serious?_" she tugged the heavy bag up and set it on the pool table heavily. "Haven't you told Zuko yet?" her voice dripped with expectance.

"She stole my mom's necklace. She said she'd break it if I told him. Mai, Azula and Ty Lee are going to help me get it sorted out, though. Monday, I'll kick Lydia from here to China." Katara explained carefully, her voice calm and calculated. "You can't tell him, Toph." By her eyes and her voice, Toph could tell that Katara had it under control.

Toph nodded solemnly. "Okay, fine. But you have to do this one thing for me." She unzipped the rucksack and drew out a black case that looked like a briefcase. She set it on the green felt and flipped it open. "Observe your payment, Katara." She grinned, staring into the box proudly. Two black metal handguns were aiming away from eachother in the velvet case that she'd found in a locked cupboard in her father's gun museum.

Katara was silent for a very long time, blue eyes wide and concerned. "Guns?" she finally spoke, shock apparent in her voice.

"Glock 21's, the both of them. My father has one hobby, and that's collecting weapons for the sole purpose of being put in display cases that I have keys to." Toph turned her head to look at Katara with a devious grin. "I figure you'll need these for my mission, Bond."

Katara's face softened and the familiar amusement of the Painted Lady returned to her. She felt life coursing through her veins, excitement building up in her. The Blue Spirit was bound to be out tonight; Zuko had to do something to take his mind off. And she needed to practice her new combat skills. "Alright then, Toph. I guess the Painted Lady is back in business."

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to many, until this night, Toph was a computer genius. It was the one half-dignified skill she had. Not that she ever used it for good, though. Up until now, The Painted Lady had only robbed stores, Bookie lots and individual people. She hadn't done anything truly sophisticated, but now she had what the Blue Spirit didn't; intelligence.<p>

"_The mission is simple."_

Katara surveyed the high-security skyscraper building of Jameson Computing Industries from her vantage point in an alleyway across from it.

"_Several months ago, a fellow hacker friend of mine went missing from Vegas, where she was fucking around with the slot machines with an ingenious device I like to call the 'fritzonator'. It frazzled all computers in the area; including security cameras, security sensors, you name it. The police wrote it off as another victim of the serial kidnapper, but I did some research and she doesn't match the MO. All the other victims were under eighteen, with tanned skin and dark hair. Dana was nineteen, pale-skinned, freckled and red haired. She turned up after four weeks, but her 'fritzonator' was gone. She couldn't tell the cops, because the 'Fritzonator' was illegal and she didn't want to get arrested for hacking. So she called me."_

No less than five security guards were patrolling outside the building's cargo entrance, all with large two-handed guns. They wore Kevlar vests and had walkie-talkies clipped to them. One of them, Katara had noted, was kind of cute. Blonde, with sunglasses, despite that it was nighttime, the man was looking around cautiously. He couldn't have been much older than twenty-six. She clutched the two-way communication device in her ear to hear her friend better.

"_The casino she was screwing around with at the time she was abducted is owned, in short by a Scott L. Pearce. Senior partner of JCI. Since then, Pearce has released several 'fritzing' viruses on the black market, and other computing companies in the area have had their releases tampered with. As a result, JCI is currently the most successful technology company in the state right now, other than Apple."_

"Okay, so what's the actual mission?" Katara whispered for the microphone attached to her high-collared, short-sleeved black sweater. Her eyes followed the security guards carefully.

"_Retrieve the Fritzonator. As long as it's in the hands of JCI, it's being misused. Dana doesn't want it back, she just doesn't want JCI to have it. Which means, once we have it, you, as a super criminal, will have your very first gadget. Oh, and while you're in there, can you pick up a pack of hardware components? I have some ideas that I could put into action for some more gadgets."_

"Yeah, first I need to get into the building, Toph."

"_Don't call me Toph; the security cameras here pick up sound. My code name is Blind Bandit."_

Katara scoffed and shook her head. "Fine. But the only way I'll get by calling you that is if you play some _really_ fucking _hardcore_ music over the earpiece while I do this. This is going to be _epic._" She smirked in the darkness, readying herself to cross the distance.

"_You got it, sister." _Toph cackled madly over the earpiece, before Katara heard a solid drumbeat pulsing in her ear. The guitar kicked in and she shot out of the darkness, her leather-clad hands crossing for the holsters on her hips.

"Hey!" one of the security guards yelled out, lifting his gun and aiming it at the black-covered woman. He was too late, however, a bullet slugged him in the chest. His vest stopped it, but the force of the shot forced him to the ground. He struggled on the ground to get up in his armor.

Both guns raised, Katara shot two guards at the same time, knocking them down. It felt like that game at a traveling show, where you had to shoot the moving targets and then you got a prize. She aimed one gun at one of the remaining guards and aimed wrong, splitting a bullet through the man's upper arm. She jumped at her own stupidity. "Sorry!" she yelled on impulse.

The man's friend came to help him, and Katara thumped the butt of her gun into the back of his skull, knocking him to the ground. _"What's going on?" _Toph asked loudly in her ear.

"Nothing." Katara answered, clutching her earpiece again, approaching the cargo door of the building. A PIN keyboard adorned the wall beside the large metal door. "There's a PIN code. Can you get it for me?" she asked.

"_Nah, just shoot it. If I try to get into their database now, before you get me in, I'll alert them that you're there, and that I'm trying to get in."_

Katara raised a hand and squeezed the trigger; a bullet blasted into the PIN keyboard and the door began rolling up. "Huh. I thought that only worked in the movies."

"_Apparently not." _Toph switched off the music.

"Hey!" Katara whispered as she walked into the building; away from the cargo storage area, she saw a long hall with three doors on the left and two on the right, and an elevator at the end of the hall.

"_You need your brains on the job for this. Take the elevator up to the thirty-first floor. There's a camera in there, so don't talk to me until you're up; if they know you have an earpiece they'll find a way into our two-way link, and find out where I am. When you get out, security will be waiting for you. Which is why you'll be doing something awesome. You get to the twenty-eighth floor, you grab the rail and push up to the roof of the elevator. Push up the top plate and climb into the elevator shaft. It'll be going kind of fast, so hold on. When it stops, and security guards storm the elevator looking for you, shoot down at them."_

"Are you fucking crazy? I'll kill them!" she yelped, pressing the elevator button.

"_Good point. Grab their heads and knock 'em together like in that movie-,"_

"Okay, I get the point." Katara exhaled as the elevator door opened. She stepped in and turned around. A clock was above the door, reading that it was 1AM. She kept her mouth shut, despite wanting to ask Toph which movie she'd seen heads knocked together in, as she tucked her guns back into their holsters.

"_Don't answer me, I just want to tell you that I have visual on the elevator camera. I'm in their security system, I just need to find the encryption …" _Toph trailed off, talking to herself. _"… on the cameras …"_

Katara watched the numbers go up. Twenty-five. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Katara tilted her head up and saw the top plate. With a jump, she pushed it up and grabbed the ledge. She pulled herself through and tugged her legs up, holding onto the elevator as it flew upward. It slowed to a halt at what Katara assumed was the thirty-first floor. She heard the chime of the doors opening, and confused voices. Katara leant down, ready to stick her arms in an knock some heads.

Two security guards walked into the elevator and tilted their heads up to see The Painted Lady's toned, tanned arms darting down to grab locks of their hair. Their skulls collided with a hollow 'clunk' and they collapsed to the floor of the elevator. Katara turned and slipped back into the elevator, spying one more security guard with his eyes and gun trained on her.

"Are you really going to hurt a poor, defenseless girl?" Katara smirked deviously.

The man's face was hard-set and determined, though indecisive. "Ma'am, are you aware that you are trespassing on corporate property?"

Katara faked a gasp, tossing her ponytail. "No, really?" she exclaimed, her arm at her side, ready to grab her gun.

"Ma'am, I advise against drawing your weapon. I _will _shoot." He warned her, his gun still aimed at her.

"You know, this is the first time anyone's called me _ma'am._" Katara thought aloud. "I think I'll come with you." She raised her hands.

"_Katara! What are you doing?" _Toph yelled in her friend's ear.

She walked toward the security guard with her hands raised and her guns holstered. The man put the gun to her back and herded her through the hall toward a room marked 'security'. There had to be computers in there she could use to let Toph into their system.

"Before you're arrested, would you mind signing an autograph for my little girl?" the security guard asked amiably.

Katara shrugged. "Sure. What's her name?"

"Becky. She's seven. She was so upset when people started saying you'd died." The man gave a curt laugh.

"I wasn't all that happy either." Katara smiled to herself, shaking her head.

"So are you and the Blue Spirit like … involved or something?" the man asked. "Cause the guy saved your life after you fucked him over."

Katara laughed. "I like you. A lot of security guards would've shot me by now."

"What would I tell my daughter then?"

"Good point." Katara nodded. "Let me guess, divorced?"

The guy sighed. "How'd you guess?"

"You talk about your kid like you don't see her often."

"You have kids?"

"Not as of yet. Maybe one day; when I don't put my life in danger on a daily basis."

"My wife left me when I was on the force; DCPD. I got shot, she said she couldn't handle me risking my life like that. She took Becky and left for her sister's. I only see her on weekends." He shook his head thoughtfully.

"That's rough, buddy." Katara said, as the man behind her reached for the security door. She elbowed him in the arm, knocking it away, before turning and pushing him back. "Sorry, man; if it's any consolation, I'm here on noble business." She pulled a face, swooping down and knocking him off his feet. He put his hands out to catch him on the ground.

The security guard hit the floor and lay there a moment, before he rolled onto his back, winded. "Yeah, well …" he panted in surprise. "You're still a better role model than Miley Cyrus."

Katara grinned, taking the security guard's handcuffs and cuffing one of his hands. She pulled it up and wrapped the cuffs around some piping on the wall and cuffed his other hand there. She saw his badge; Ted Millhouse. "I intend to follow up on that autograph, by the way." She promised. "If I survive this mission long enough to fight Blue, I'll get him to sign too."

"I'm sure Becky would like that." Ted gave a situational laugh as Katara fled.

Katara raced away from the security room and into a stairwell. She climbed the steps one floor up and pushed out into an office area filled with cubicles; at the end of the room was a rose wood door, and Katara figured the office inside had to belong to someone important. She managed to pick the lock without any help from Toph, and pushed it open into a lavish office with a dartboard, cigarette shelf, and multiple hunting trophies on the wall.

The rounded the desk on the other side of the room and switched on the Apple Mac computer inside, leaning on the desk to look at the screen. "Okay, find me a password."

"_Use 'Klingon5000'. This guy's a total nerd." _Toph gave a short laugh.

Katara clapped at the keys on the keyboard and it instantly let her into the lone account. On the right side of the screen, files ran downward in two rows, and on the left side a file named 'F-01 Research' sat alone. "There's a file called 'F-01 Research', is that what we're looking for?"

"_No; that file opens up a security breach screen and will corrupt all the information we're looking for. It's a decoy. Click something that looks like personal stuff. It might be titled 'vacation 2003' or some shit like that. I know these Star Trek geeks; they're all freaking paranoid."_

"Hey, _**I**_ watch Star Trek." Katara's eyes scanned the screen until she caught sight of a folder called 'Lori's Wedding 2006'. She double clicked it and four PDF files came up, along with three TextEdit files and an encrypted file. "Okay, I think I found it."

"_Email it to me."_

"Won't they be able to trace the email?"

"_Not with my homemade firewall they won't. My email address is __blind bandit triple-six at rocket mail,__"_

"Nice." Katara mumbled, using one hand to adjust her mask a little bit; her face was beginning to sweat inside it. "Okay, I sent the file. Now what?"

"_Gimme a second …" _a few short moments went by before Toph sighed in defeat. _"Dammit. It's not here. It's research on its workings, but there's no information on where it's being kept. You need to find the office of someone higher up. Possibly even William Jameson himself."_

"Shit. Do me a favor; find out if there's security on its way here."

Toph was silent for a moment, but Katara could hear her banging away on her keyboard. _"No. Nobody … No one's coming. Something fishy is up, Katara. I don't like this. You need to find this thing and get out of there, before they hook up a Bond-Villain trap."_

Katara nodded, though she knew Toph couldn't see. "Alright." She answered, logging out of the computer. She stood up straight and ran back out the office door. She set her eyes on the stairwell door again, though taking notice as she approached it, of the cubicles she passed. There were no pictures, no decorations. All the stalls looked exactly alike. As she climbed the floors, Katara laughed under her breath and addressed her friend. "Hey _Blind Bandit_; what game were you playing when you planned this mission?"

"_Black Ops vs. Aang. He fails at gaming."_ Toph answered calmly. _"Now hurry up!"_

The top floor of the building had no cubicles; just modern offices with glass windows, and at the end of them, prestigious, modern, glass double doors with golden plaques that read; 'William Jameson, CEO & Owner of Jameson Computing Industries'. "I found it," she told her friend, as she pushed open one of the expensive doors. They weren't locked; if she hadn't been so happy to think of the end of this mission, she'd have found this suspicious.

There it was; on the modern metal desk, the Fritzonator, a hand-sized, touch-screen cell-phone shaped device, was plugged into a seven-monitored computer. She knew it by its apparent home-made-ness. A large, rich company obviously hadn't built it with billions of dollars under its belt. A sticker that was coming off read 'Dana Pinkowitz' in blue ballpoint ink.

_"What's going on?" _Toph asked carefully.

"I've got it." She approached the desk and expertly unplugged the USB in the device. She slid the small gadget into the holster Toph had put together to bring it back, strapped around her upper thigh. "Mission accomplished." She exhaled heavily, as if the weight of the world had been taken off her shoulders.

"_Don't get cocky, Katara; you still have to get out of there."_

The Painted Lady turned around and saw that the door had closed behind her. She frowned in suspicion. She knew she hadn't closed the door. "Blind Bandit, can you check if there's security within a ten-foot radius of my location?" she asked slowly and calmly.

"_I'm on it, Sugar Queen." _Toph answered affirmatively. _"Hang on." _she added suspiciously. _"They … crap, they've blocked me out! Damn it, they're closing in!"_

Katara drew in a careful breath. She couldn't hear anyone, she noted, as she pressed her ear to the door. Maybe they'd managed to keep Toph out of their database, but not because they were closing in on her. Either way, she drew one of her guns as she pushed the door open; just to be prepared. Her right trigger finger itched in anticipation, as she stepped out into the hallway, her feet settling on the rich green runner rug that ran from one end of it to the other.

Nothing. Nobody.

With a relieved sigh, she holstered her weapon. If she'd had time, she'd have acted at the sound of whispers. The rug under her feet was ripped out from under her, not metaphorically; literally. She was sure her feet went higher than her head before she smacked her back flat against the bare wooden floor, the air knocked out of her lungs. She grunted out a profanity before she opened her eyes and saw four security guards approaching with loaded weapons drawn and pointed at her head. She doubted they would refrain from shooting her in the face. _SHIT._

"_I'm back up! What's- Oh, for __**fuck's**__ sake!"_

* * *

><p>'The name's Bond; James Bond,' they say. Katara now knew that all that highfalutin, pretentious, sissy bullshit was just a mask for Bond's tiny penis and asininity. Somehow, she'd ended up in the parking lot in the basement of the building, with thick packing cable securing her to one of the building supports from elbow to ass, an expression of pure hatred pasted on the lower half of her face. Surprisingly, the top half of it was still masked.<p>

The elevator opened and a Romanian man Katara could only assume was the 'Vlad' the security guards patrolling the area were talking about stepped out with two large, armed and armored security guards flanking him. He walked across the parking lot and stopped about seven feet away from her. His eyes were cast to her leg, where the device was still strapped to her thigh. A smirk lit up his generally unpleasant face. He took three comfortable strides toward her and stopped six inches from her face.

She felt a flat hand on her hip slide down her leg to the device, and remove it from the holster. "The Painted Lady." He hissed. "You are as breathtaking as they say."

Katara's red-painted lips pushed together in a defiant pout for a moment before she settled back, hunkering her emotions for silence. She knew all they wanted was for her to talk, and that wasn't happening any time soon. She narrowed her blue eyes, settling them on the middle-aged brown ones of the man before her.

"Is your voice as pretty as your face?" he wondered aloud. She was sure he thought himself a charmer. She wasn't falling for it. Neither was Toph.

"_What a fucking moron." _The blind bandit laughed.

Vladimir continued, his eyes settled on Katara's full red lips. "I'm sure you have no intention of being unmasked. We have no intention of losing the device. We could make a deal, no?" he suggested simply.

Katara frowned harshly, momentarily considering this. "What kind of deal?"

Vladimir grinned. "You tell us how you knew about the device, and we will … set you free. Free to rob and steal and murder, whatever you please." His hand settled on her leather hip again, and he voiced his wonders again. "Leather." He whispered, quietly. "The most seductive of materials. Some would argue satin or silk, but leather will win a seductress her target. And don't you know it."

Katara's lips thinned and she bore her teeth. "Eat shit and puke on your shoes!" she snarled viciously, before tossing her head and looking away from the head of security.

"_Are you out of your fucking mind? You're going to get yourself killed!" _Toph's voice growled out of the earpiece.

His free hand, the one not running fingers over smooth leather, darted up and grabbed her by the throat, forcing the back of her head against the building brace she was secured to. He bore his own teeth. "You are in no position to be making such suggestions." He seethed darkly, before releasing her neck and turning on his heel, the fritzonator in his hand. He addressed the two security guards that had flanked him in the elevator. "Do what needs be done," He told them, before turning again and watching as they removed the navy blue devices on their hips. Katara recognized the devices as tazers.

They each took a side of her and pressed the metal ends of their tools to her upper arms.

"I will give you one more chance. Who told you of the device?" Vladimir demanded, crossing his arms and standing with his feet at shoulder width.

'_Fuck. Fuck, just tell them!' _the devil on her shoulder yelled in her ear.

'_No! You can't sell Toph out!' _the long-absent angel yelled from the other.

She said nothing. Then she cried out as electricity pulsed through every part of her body. She tossed her head back in agony and it hit against the concrete building support, feeling energy shooting through her veins. She sobbed out a long grunt of pleading, fizzling currents of static ripping her apart from the inside. The electricity died away and she was left limply dangling against the support by the packing cable, her legs almost not even there.

"Tell me!"

She managed to shake her head as she panted, and the agony kicked up again. She shouted out, her hands forming fists at her sides and her legs wanted to break to distract her. It felt unnatural; like as if lightning had struck her. It felt as if her whole body would boil from the inside out. Her eyes rolled back in her head with her convulsing with electricity, throwing her head forward and trying her best to tell them to fuck themselves. It was like metal nails were running through her veins, cutting them open as they flowed. Each beat of her heart brought more pain. Her chest heaved to have a heart attack, for a second before the shock stopped. She hung her head down in front of her, panting and gasping for air, and fighting back sobs of pain.

"_Oh, god, Katara, just tell them!" _Toph screamed in her earpiece.

"You feel pain in your chest, no? With one more shock, you _**will**_ go into cardiac arrest and you _**will**_ die. Tell me how you knew and we can spare your life."

Katara struggled to pull her head up and look him dead in the eye, through brilliant blue slits. "G-g-go …" she panted, "f-fuck y-yours-self."

Vladimir waved a hand to the security guards and turned away.

Pain split through Katara's body, down her spine, through her legs, through her arms, tingling at the tips of her fingers, buzzing in her earpiece, pulsing with her ever-quickening heartbeat, in her eye sockets, in her mouth, between her clenched teeth as she groaned out. She knew she was about to die. She knew it. She knew that death would come riding the elevator and relieve her pain.

She forced herself to look up, and she saw the elevator open again; she hadn't even noticed it closing and heading upward. Here he came; death. With a blue and white grin, fangs and skillful fighting form emerging from the metal cage. The heel of his hand came crashing into the center Vladimir's chest, knocking him back a few steps and startling the head of security. The electricity disappeared from Katara's sides, giving her a moment to catch her breath and understand her surroundings. She managed to tilt her head up to watch as the Blue Spirit disabled and incapacitated his foes with movements so clear and precise, she wondered if he was able to kill a person with his bare hands.

The Blue Spirit punched Vladimir in the forehead by mistake, rendering him unconscious, but really fucking hurting his hand. He looked about and saw Katara, mostly limp but trying to gain control of her body again. He drew his swords and slashed away the cables securing her to the pillar. Her weak legs failed her and she simply fell forward into his arms. "You're out of your fucking mind." He whispered, catching her.

She managed a tiny laugh, her fingers gripping his sleeves tightly. A moan escaped her lips, pain still echoing in her blood. She buried her face in his chest and allowed him to stroke her hair into calmness. "Thank you." She murmured into him, getting her legs up under her again, wobbling on them but staying upright.

"Any time." He answered tensely. "Come on." he pulled away from her, setting her on her own legs. "We need to get out of here."

Katara set her eyes on the fritzonator beside an unconscious Vladimir's hand. She took four unsteady steps and plucked it from the ground, before tucking it into her thigh-holster. "Fuck." She panted, pulling one arm over her chest and taking a look at the burn on her. "Shit, that hurts." She hissed darkly.

Zuko approached and took hold of one of her wrists, tugging her into the elevator. Once they were in, he jabbed the button to go up a floor and glanced to Katara. "So, mind telling me exactly why you took on a mission that could've - if I hadn't been your knight in shining whatever - gotten you killed?"

"My knight in shining whatever?" Katara glanced aside at him, the doors shutting. "Gee, thanks, Prince Charming." She scoffed a laugh.

Zuko grunted in annoyance. "Answer the fucking question."

Katara rolled her eyes. "The blind bandit asked me to do it." She answered, careful of the security camera in the corner of the elevator.

"Well then I'll have to kick her ass." Zuko crossed his arms in irritation. "What's so important about that little … whatever that thing is." He lowered his eyes and watched the fritzonator as if it were about to jump from its holster and start raping someone.

"It's an illegal device that causes computers to go on the fritz, which is why _el blindo bandito_ likes to call it the 'fritzonator'. JCI stole it from her friend, and she wanted me to steal it back. It's the reason JCI has been climbing up to second Apple in the state computing market. They've been sabotaging everyone else's work." Katara explained intelligently.

Zuko raised an eyebrow under his mask, and though Katara couldn't see it, she knew it. "I thought you'd stop this super-criminal bullshit after you got shot."

"You got shot too, and you didn't stop." She answered quickly. She glanced up at the elevator indicator; it was the slowest elevator ever.

"That's different, I'm trying to _help _people."

Katara laughed and shook her head. "Who said _I _wasn't?"

Zuko glanced aside and looked her in the eye. "What are you _talking _about?" he scoffed.

She rolled her eyes again and made a face. "Have you been to the poor district lately? I've been bringing them all the food I steal, and all the medicine I steal. It's all for them. You didn't think I was just robbing for the sake of robbing, did you?"

Zuko raised a hand and face-palmed himself over his mask, accidentally bumping his nose, though he didn't show it. "So you're essentially a girl Robin Hood." He exhaled long and hard. He saw Katara smirk at the idea, and gave another long heave of annoyance. "I'm still kicking the _blind bandit's _ass." He strained out Toph's fake name.

Katara frowned, a flash of memory infiltrating her mind. She was screaming in pain, and electricity was searing through her body. She steadied herself against the back wall of the elevator, trying not to think about it. She was fine; she'd been fine since she'd gotten shot. She couldn't go there again; to that dark place. She wouldn't.

* * *

><p>"Ow!" Katara screeched, jerking her arm away from Zuko. The burn was tender, and tingling with the salve Zuko had put on it, and she had <em>thought <em>he would know that.

"Stay still!" he snapped in exasperation, positioning the bandaging again over her burn. "Where the fuck is that idiotic friend of yours?" he glanced again at the door as he wrapped the material over her upper arm, the other arm already wrapped. His teeth were clenched hard in annoyance.

"Of _ours, _I think you mean." The blue eyes girl corrected him in a singsong tone.

"She nearly got you killed." Zuko grimaced dryly.

"Why do you care so much?" Katara settled her eyes on his, with a penetrating stare that froze him in place.

"Why do you not?" he answered coldly. "You seem completely unfazed; you were _tortured _for information. You can't just be _fine _with that. Can you?"

Katara tossed her head. "I wasn't tortured." She replied defiantly, moving to stand up from her perch on her living room coffee table. Zuko, sat opposite her, on the couch, grabbed her forearm to stop her from leaving.

"The scars on your arms will be there forever. You're not at all bothered by that?" he pulled her back onto the coffee table, and stared into her eyes with determined gold beads that infiltrated her soul like soldiers at war. "You're not angry!" he raised his voice.

Katara became gravely serious, the reply of her eyes cold and unwelcoming. "No. I'm not." She spat harshly, attempting to tug her arm away from him. She failed and he managed to grab hold of her other arm. "Let go of me, Zuko!" she yelled in his face.

"You screamed, Katara. You screamed as if you were being ripped in half." His voice came out ragged and serious, as if he were trying to expel a demon from her. "You thought they'd think twice about killing you? About watching you have a seizure before you choked on your own tongue and dropped _dead_?"

"Stop it!" she pulled at his grip again, tears prickling in her eyes.

"Tell me what it felt like to think you were about to die. Did it feel good? Because that's what it sounds like - maybe you _wanted _to die!" he shouted at her.

She dropped her eyes to his hands on her arms. Of course she was angry; why did she have to pretend like she wasn't? They had scarred her formerly gorgeous arms with pale, ugly marks that looked like old lady skin. She snatched her arms away from him. "You're a jerk!" she shouted at him, before throwing a punch at his face, shooting up from her seat. She could have died!_ "What you did, Katara, and what he did, was selfish. He didn't think about his Uncle, just like you didn't think about us. How we would feel if you dropped off the face of the planet."_

He dodged and let his face fall again; he'd achieved what he'd wanted. "That's it, Katara. Get angry!" he yelled at her, raised his arms to defend himself against her blows and stood up. "Get _pissed_!"

Katara pushed the coffee table away from the couch and threw another punch at Zuko, landing it in his stomach, making him double over slightly. She threw another punch at her friend, biting back tears. "I hate you!" she screamed as her fist flew through the air. It smacked against his palm and his finger closed around her hand. She threw her other fist at his jaw, but he caught her by the wrist in his other hand. "Get off me!" she growled out, struggling against his grip.

He lowered his head and let go of her hands, before looking up and nodding respectfully. "I'm glad you're angry."

"You're sick." Katara panted furiously, exiting her stance.

"You weren't angry at me, or those security guards that tasered you. You were angry at yourself, and _that _is what I was trying to achieve." He explained carefully, sinking back to the couch.

Katara just watched him through eyes so narrow they were slits.

"You were angry at yourself for risking your life. You're valuing your life. It's a good thing. Don't fight it. In a few days … you'll start beating yourself up for the suicide attempt, but it'll pass. It's some kind of metamorphosis; you feel like you have something to live for. For me … for me, it's the Blue Spirit. After you got shot, I really saw how much I was helping people; I saw that I was keeping people from feeling what I felt when I thought you were going to die. I stopped seeing what I _wasn't _doing, and began seeing what I _was _doing."

Katara lowered her eyes and sank to the coffee table again.

"You'll learn to appreciate your own life. And you'll learn to recognize where it starts to steer itself without you." He exhaled long and heavy, his head hanging, his eyes on the carpet. Katara realized he was talking about how Lydia seemed to be running his life with the pregnancy scam.

"Zuko …" Katara began slowly. "Maybe … maybe you're right. Everything somehow got better after I got shot. Before, it was like everything was blurry and I was just struggling to push through … and now? Now, it's like there's clarity and life everywhere I look. Today was one of the best days I've ever had, and I didn't want to let the taser thing bother me because … because I didn't want it to ruin my day." She paused for a long time to look at her wrapped arms. She eventually sighed heavily. "God, I used to have great fucking arms, you know?" she murmured to herself.

The golden-eyed boy smirked. "I caught it quick enough; that salve I put on is some home-made stuff I whipped up when I got my scar. I burnt my hand trying to get off the stove, but my dad was holding me down, so I couldn't get up." He showed her his right hand, where his skin was untouched. "My scar was too tender for me to put the salve on, but my hand …" he smiled at Katara. "Your arms are going to be fine."

Katara frowned hard. "Why didn't you tell me until now?"

"I needed something to get you angry."

The front door burst open and Zuko shot up from his seat. Toph waltzed into the living room, munching on an apple with casual comfort. The golden-eyed boy advanced on her and grabbed the apple from her hand, before chucking it over her head, across the hall and into the kitchen. It bounced off the fridge and into the bin. Toph looked over her shoulder to see this.

"Nice throw, Sparky."

Zuko growled out angrily at her, grabbing her shoulder, turning her around and forcing her into the armchair opposite the couch. "You have a shitload of explaining to do." He grunted indignantly.

"Do I now?" Toph raised her eyebrows thoughtfully. "About?"

"Did you _know _you were sending Katara into a deathtrap?" Zuko crossed his arms and frowned coldly.

"I figured she could handle it." Toph shrugged nonchalantly.

Zuko turned red and pointed at Katara. "Those bandages are from _tasers_, Toph. They tasered her to find out who told her about the device you sent Katara for, and she didn't rat you out. You'd better have some fucking thanks for her, or I swear I'll blind you the rest of the way." He seethed darkly.

Toph nodded in agreement. "You make a fair point." She looked from Zuko to Katara. "Thank you Katara. I brought you something you might like." She reached into her pocket, took two black objects from it and tossed one to her.

Katara took a good look at the device. It was shaped like a 2D pear, with a point at one end and a digital screen over the top of it. "What does it do?"

"It's an x-ray tool. I put it together before I left Aang's." she held up hers with a proud grin. "And this one's mine. Unflappable lie detector I've been working on for a few weeks. Finally got it to go while you were at JCI." She explained, a glint flashing off her face.

"Is that why it took you so long to get here?" Zuko asked skeptically.

Toph coughed out a mischievous laugh. "Uh … no." she pointed to the left side of her nose. "I stopped in with Ron, that hippie guy that runs the 'Magpies Nest', got him to give me a nose piercing for six bucks." She leant toward Katara to let her see it better. It was titanium, with a clear stone in it.

Katara nodded and smiled softly. "It's pretty."

"Isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Whatever." Zuko waved a hand dismissively.

Toph paused to look at Zuko. "You're kinda tense." She noted sagely.

"No shit, Sherlock."

Toph looked to Katara, scolding, before settling her eyes on Zuko again. "Is it because of the baby thing?"

Zuko glared at the colorblind girl before he sighed heavily. "A little bit. Yes." He answered honestly, shutting his eyes to think. "I was thinking maybe … maybe I could find a way to not have to be with Lydia and still do the right thing for the kid. I mean, loads of people who are divorced look after their kids together, right?"

Katara bit her lip. "Hey, Zuko; why don't you help me write an autograph for a little girl named Becky?" she changed the subject.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: WHOOOOO! So tired! I wanted to do something different with this chapter. I've been trying not to be in a rut of any sort, so I did a James Bond thingy. I was thinking of making this stretch out but seriously? Come on! There's no secrets between ZuTaRa! **

**I have not played Black Ops, so forgive me if my mission idea could not have possibly come from the game. I figure a black ops organization in real like is probably what the black ops in the game is ... I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.**

**And if there are any Miley Cyrus lovers out there, I don't mean to offend. I just know so many parents who hate Miley being a role model for their kids. I'm capitalizing, like ... really cheaply. I don't usually stoop this low. My standards are dropping.**

**Also, I got my nose pierced. Which is why I gave Toph a nose piercing. On the same side. With the same piercing. They say writing is drawn from your own experiences, right? It's just a dainty little piercing, my boyfriend thinks its nice, which is always a relief! Shouldn't be too major for Toph either. I might make a funny Aang-reaction :)**

**Anyway, I pretty much know what I wanna do, I just don't know if you want to know what it is. So! If you want a base of what's to come, leave a request for the outline in your review; don't forget to log in! If you don't then just review! I didn't want to just post it in the authors note because I don't want to ruin no surprises!**

**Also, I'd like lines you'd like to hear from characters, as a challenge for me, and I'll figure out how to put it into a chapter! Don't try to um … y'know, change the plot or anything too major. Funny stuff, really, I guess I'm looking for. And side-stories! I need side stories, because the next chapter will elaborate on Ty Lee's pregnancy, and bring a long-needed close to that side-plot, and I need a new one. Or not. JUST REVIEW!**

**P.s. Thanks to everyone who sent in support and love over my loss of Pingu! It really helped wonders and I've been able to look back with a smile instead of tears for the last couple of days. Sometimes she's not even in my dreams. I can put her to the back of my mind, but she's been the inspiration for me to take charge of my life these past few days; I'm no longer waking up at two PM, and I'm making an effort to not waste my life, because, you know, one minute you have it and the next, it's gone.**

**Love, Rhia xxx**


	18. Toblerone

Saturday morning, at seven AM, Katara appeared at the Scorsese doors, as Azula had demanded. When Consuela answered the door, she smiled brightly. "Seniorita Katara, it is early. Master Zuko is in his Kendo lesson." She nodded genially, opening the door wide to let Katara in.

"Kendo? At seven in the morning?" Katara raised an eyebrow, walking in. Sokka went to the same thing, she just assumed that Sokka was gone Saturday mornings because he had been out all night and never come home on the Friday. Perhaps that wasn't the case. "Isn't that a little early?" she really fucking doubted it though.

"He takes a private session on a Saturday Morning in the gym." Consuela gestured across the ballroom to a large, pine door that Katara knew to lead into the family's private gym. "He will be finished at eight. Would you like breakfast while you wait?"

Katara's mouth watered at the thought of the breakfasts she'd had here before. "Uh … no, actually, I'm here for Azula. She told me to be here at seven, so … here I am." Katara smiled, turning around to face Consuela. "Do you know where she is?"

"Behind you." A formal voice echoed in the ballroom from one of the grand twin staircases. Katara turned around to see Azula walking down it, running a brush through straight raven locks that fell to her ass, in a red satin blouse and a pair of fading gray skinny jeans. She was barefoot; Katara imagined the polished wood of the staircase felt good on bare feet.

"Oh. Morning, Azula." Katara smiled weakly; she would be lying if she said she wasn't in the slightest bit intimidated by Azula.

"Good morning." Azula shrugged up and rolled her shoulders. "Consuela, will you fetch some coats and make some herbal tea?"

"Si, Seniorita." Consuela bowed her head calmly and began to walk toward the kitchen.

"Come with me." Azula reached the bottom of the stairs and headed for the large glass doors to the back yard. There was a sheltered terrace between the house and the snowy back lawn, where Azula stopped and turned to look at Katara, who had followed the golden-eyed girl. "Alright; take off your shoes." Azula instructed Katara, crossing her arms.

Katara pulled her feet out of her sneakers and shut the glass door behind her. "Why do I need to take off my shoes?"

Azula gave a small laugh and a lie, before changing the subject. "It's just a precaution. Now, then; tell me, what do you think will be that blonde girl's best defense in a fight?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Blunt weapons and … well, leverage." Katara thought aloud.

"Don't worry about _leverage; _she's hardly going to break the necklace right then and there. So long as you don't give her time to, that is." Azula eyed the patio table and snatched up the broken metal rod that had come off of an aging ride-on lawnmower at the far end of the prestigious lawns of the Scorsese mansion. She twirled it expertly in one hand and made sure Katara watched as she did this. "This morning, I'm going to teach you to think outside the box in combat. It's just as important as raw power, muscle memory and agility." She held the metal bar over her head. "Get into a stance where you could block an attack such as this."

Katara looked around suspiciously before raising one hand and holding it open to catch the bar.

Azula exhaled in exasperation. "You'd break your thumb like that." She dropped the bar back to the table and approached Katara. "Two hands." She grabbed the hand at Katara's side and held it up parallel to the other one. She let go and allowed Katara to hold her arms up. She looked down to Katara's casual stance. "And stance is vital." She took the bar back in her hands and put it in Katara's upheld palms. To illustrate her point, she grabbed the bar between Katara's hands and jiggled it a little; causing Katara's balance to fail. "You see? With your feet like that, you'll topple if she struggles, and she will."

Katara nodded and dropped her hands, handing the bar back to Azula. "None of this has anything to do with thinking outside the box, though." She pointed out.

"You're right." Azula nodded, checking her expensive golden watch. "For four hours, until noon, we'll spar in different surroundings. You'll learn to see your surroundings as advantages. Even use your opponents weaknesses to your gain."

Katara frowned. "You said four hours; it's only seven, that's … five hours until noon."

Azula offered a tiny smirk. "First, we need to build up your pain threshold."

The blue-eyed girl winced.

* * *

><p>Katara was sure her lips were turning blue. She hugged herself tight to retain her body heat and tried her best to keep feeling her feet. One of Azula's many pain-threshold builders was standing completely still, barefoot in the snow for five whole minutes without squirming. To be fair, the raven-haired girl was doing it too, not that she needed any skill building, and was keeping a poker face.<p>

"Can I ask a question?" Katara began. "Why are we standing still? Surely it's harder to walk around in the snow?"

"If you walk around, you build up body heat. This is an endurance exercise." Azula replied calmly. "My turn. How long after you put an end to all that Roberts girl's bullshit do you plan to ask Zuzu out?"

This made Katara squirm more than the snow did. "Mai told you about that, then." She stated plainly.

"She did. Answer the question."

"I don't. It'll be pure luck if we can patch things up to the way they were at Christmas time. Professing my _undying love _for the guy would only intensify the awkwardness." Katara explained diplomatically, whatever shifting she'd been doing in the snow coming to a stop.

"Don't you think there's a _chance _he's equally attracted to you?" Azula queried inquisitively, though casual enough for it not to come out gossipy.

"Sure, there's a _chance. _But there's an even larger chance of him making that awkward little smile he does when he's nervous, laughing awkwardly and never speaking to me again." Katara shut her eyes and raised her eyebrows, an expression of exasperation on her face.

Azula paused. "Wow, you really know my brother."

"Tell me about it." Katara opened her eyes and checked her watch. They'd been standing in the snow for seven minutes, and now she didn't really think she would mind staying another seven. "Okay; what's next on your endurance schedule?"

Azula was happy with this question. "Nothing. Now I'm going to show you how to use random surrounding objects as weapons, or other combat tools." She raised a hand and pointed to an aged wooden outdoor table-bench covered in snow. It could have been a wooden version of one of the several types of tables in the cafeteria. The one on the patio looked more like the round table where the Gaang usually sat, though. "You see that table? Watch this."

She took two casual steps, crunching in the snow with bare, reddened feet, before speeding to a jog and then a full-fledged sprint at the table. She catapulted herself from the snow, put one foot on the seat of the table, the other on the table itself, spun herself around and kicked the foot on the seat around for a flying roundhouse kick. She landed on one knee in the snow, pushed herself up and dusted herself off.

Katara gawped at Azula. "I want to do that!"

* * *

><p>At 4:32PM, Saturday afternoon, or evening, as the sky was beginning to tell, the training for the day was done, and Katara collapsed against the inside of the Marina's front door. For thirty blissful seconds, her weight was held by the door and she didn't have to worry about anything other than falling asleep against it. Today's exhaustion had brought her to her cloud nine again, though the stress of Monday began to wear on her. She was worrying over the possibility of losing the fight, or possibly even her necklace. A few bruises, maybe even a disfiguration, she could handle, but other than Charlie, the necklace was all she had.<p>

All she had of Kya.

Katara opened her eyes and saw Charlie sitting on the _still _unwashed laundry. She pushed herself from the door to pick up her bear and take him to her room when she heard a high-pitched yapping noise and some kind of scratching on the wooden floor of the hallway. "Hey, no! Stop!" she could hear her father yelling. "Sokka, stop it!"

A blur of creamy gold came sliding across the hallway with another high-pitched yap, trying to stop itself before it crashed into Katara's shins. Katara looked down and saw huge brown eyes staring up at her. "Aww!" she cooed out, kneeling down and smoothing soft fingertips over the puppy's fur.

Her brother came sliding just the same down the hall, from the sunroom, obviously chasing the puppy, with his father running behind him. "Oh, hey, dad, she uh …"

Katara looked up to see her father smiling awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, and her brother holding an equally tiny kitten in one arm. "Katara, I took it upon myself to try to make amends by … well, I got you a puppy, to be frank." He shrugged nervously.

Katara just smiled up at her dad. "Is it a girl or a boy?" she asked thoughtfully.

"It's a boy. And _this _is Foo-Foo-Cuddly-Poops." Sokka gestured with his free hand to the kitten in his arms. "Don't care that _I _have a new pet or anything. Just be totally self-absorbed …" he snapped sardonically. "Not like I care."

Katara picked up the puppy and stood up. "I'm guessing you took Sokka to the pet shop." She addressed her father. "Good call." She joked sarcastically.

"He promised to toilet train it … and clean the litter box … and feed it, so … it's no skin off my back." Hakoda shrugged, reaching for the hallway sideboard and producing a small puppy collar and lead line from a plastic bag. "This is for your new friend." He smiled, handing the collar and lead to his daughter. "I hope we've patched things up." He smiled briefly.

"And then some." She acknowledged with a warm smile. "I … I'm sorry I made it out like you were the bad guy. You were right; you're an adult and … you have the right to date anyone you want." She lowered her head solemnly.

Hakoda gave a brief nod. "All is forgiven." He approached her and patted her on the shoulder. "You missed a phone call this morning; Toph Bei Fong called for you. She asked me to tell you to be at Jet's house at six. Apparently there's a party going on of some sort."

Katara exchanged glances with Sokka before looking to her father. "Can we go?" she pleaded hopefully. "I promise it won't turn out like last time!"

Hakoda pulled a face of reluctance. It _was _a Saturday night, and he _did _want his children to have lives, but he also knew that high school house parties were not the classiest of get-togethers. "Back at midnight." He looked to Sokka. "Or you lose your car," he glanced back to Katara. "And you lose your phone."

"Okay, got it. Cinderella deal." Katara grinned. She had an hour and a half to get ready, figure out what to do with her new puppy, find her phone, keys and wallet, and get to the party. _'Shouldn't be too hard,' _she thought to herself, taking off for her bedroom with the puppy under her arm.

Sokka dusted the nacho chip crumbs off his black and purple layered shirt and considered himself ready.

* * *

><p>Katara and Sokka approached the spot outside Jet's house where Aang, Toph, Suki and Zuko were grouped together, around Zuko's bike with their back turned to the Marina siblings. In the snowy cold, white misty breaths were blowing west on the cool air, accompanied by darker cigarette smoke, and Katara deciphered that Zuko was smoking again. For a moment, she allowed herself to wonder how Zuko had the energy to fight crime with the way he smoked. He puffed like a chimney.<p>

"Hey, guys, what are we standing around in the cold for?" Sokka asked, joining them in the cold. Toph stood aside so they could see what was going on. Zuko wasn't just smoking, he was arguing with the blonde on the other side of the bike, who held an expensive Gucci bag and a hand raised with a pointing finger as she argued back. She was going for it like a carnivorous beast goes for a weak, newborn calf. The Marina teens looked on as Lydia's words came out sharp enough to cut flesh.

"… irresponsible, selfish halfwit!" was what they managed to pick up before Zuko retorted.

"Look, what the _fuck _did I do to you?" he snapped harshly, honestly confused as to what he had done to deserve this; this venom-spitting bitch that some cruel force had injected into his life.

Lydia gasped as if he was retarded. "What did you _do? _You did _nothing! _You let that _ugly_ little _**monster**_ beat me up," she pointed to Toph, "You let _your _little _**whore **_talk trash to me," she pointed to Katara with evil dripping from her mouth, "And you're not _man enough_ to step up to the plate when it come to **your** _responsibilities_!" she shouted out angrily.

Toph clenched her fists at her sides, and even Aang's light touch on her shoulder wasn't enough to calm her. Katara gnashed her teeth viciously, possibly pretending to break bones with them, and Sokka clutched her arm to keep her from surging forward. Zuko frowned hard and shut his eyes. "Katara, Toph, I apologize on Lydia's behalf." He looked over his shoulder to them, before looking back to Lydia. "Lydia, we'll talk about this on Monday. Enjoy your weekend." He bowed his head honorably, before turning his back to her and beginning to walk away. Toph stared daggers at Lydia, though Katara, Aang, Suki and Sokka watched Zuko.

Lydia screwed her face up, bending down and picking up one of the wood chippings on the ground. She straightened and tossed the wooden chip at Zuko, hitting the back of his head, though not fazing him in the slightest. Katara considered taking on the blonde right now, but she knew it would be more effective and ultimate if it took place in school. Sure, she'd get detention, and possibly a suspension, but it would send a clearer message, and detention and suspension beat prosecution and juvie any day.

Pride welled in Katara's stomach at Zuko's maturity as the rest of the Gaang followed him. "Uh, Zuko, Jet's house is _that _way," Sokka gestured over his shoulder, keeping up to pace with the calm Senior with hands tucked into black jeans pockets.

"Let's go somewhere else." Zuko shrugged coolly, giving the chill air a half-smile of self-pride. "I feel like doing something unusual."

"Breaking news," Toph chirped suddenly. "Angsty-McEmo cracks a smile…" she scoffed a laugh.

Zuko suddenly stopped in his tracks and let his half-smile split into a huge grin, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. "I just had the single most amazing idea in the history of stupid teenagers doing stupid things." He spun around to grin at his friends. "We're going to the Southern Forest." He pushed an aisle through the middle of his friends and began walking back to his bike.

Katara glanced sideways at Aang. "Is he okay?" she whispered carefully.

Aang shrugged. "I figure happy is more okay than angry." He looked to the blue-eyed girl and gave a nod that seemed to be in support of his own reply. "Why, you don't think he's okay?"

"Uh … I saw him last night, and he was his usual angsty self, but all of a sudden he's calm and cool and collected, and it's kind of creepy." She looked around with shifty eyes. "Maybe he's on dope or something."

"Lighten up, Sugar Queen." Toph smacked her roughly on the back. "So Papa's got a brand new bag. Big whoop. I wanna know what he wants to do in the woods." She pushed past them and followed Zuko. "Hey, Sparky! Gimme a ride, will ya?"

Sokka poked Aang in the arm. "I guess you can tag along with Katara, Suki and me. How'd you get here in the first place?" he asked, producing keys from his pocket and pressing the button on them. It gave a chime and a beep could be heard from the cluster of parked cars outside the simple abode that Jet inhabited.

"My mom drove us."

"Which one?" Sokka grinned. "Hot one or butch one?"

Aang rolled his eyes. "That got old a long time ago, Sokka."

* * *

><p>Both Suki and Katara had an arm of Sokka as the chill wind of winter echoed eerie whistles between the dense trees of the Southern forest. Aang, with hands in his pockets, questioned how Zuko and Toph were just leading the way like it was some kind of sorority pledge in the making. <em>'Sorority pledge …' <em>Sokka thought to himself with a frown, suddenly stopping in his tracks. "Guys, maybe we should turn back." He looked around cautiously; this was the very forest in which … he couldn't finish his thought. "You've made your point, Zuko, you're a fucked up guy. Can we go now?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Zuko looked over his shoulder with a devious grin, still puffing on a cigarette.

"I lost it three tundras ago." Sokka stated dryly, breathing out his words to mist in the cold air. "It's cold, and it's dark, and if we go any further, we won't be able to find our way back."

"Chicken." Toph scoffed coldly. "You guys ain't nothin' but a bunch'a wimps." She muttered in a dark and serious tone.

Zuko suddenly stopped in his tracks, his sense of adventure fading slightly at the bone-chilling whistle of the wind that tore through their group. He glanced over his shoulder at the others, before pushing on, further into the web of trees before them. They trudged on for another five minutes after him until they knew the only way they would ever get out would be by following their own foot tracks. If the snow fell while they were there, they'd be trapped.

Sokka reached out, pulling his arm from Katara, and grabbed Zuko's shoulder. "That's it, we're going home." He stated adamantly. "Like it or not. I'll fucking drag you back if I have to." He brought his brows down decisively.

"Go. I'm not stopping you." Zuko shrugged away from Sokka's hand and continued walking. If either had been less centered on each other, they might have noticed Katara fall to the back of their group, with her back turned to them, neither walking in the direction Zuko was heading, or the direction Sokka wanted to take, but rather skewing off elsewhere.

Sokka shouted after him. "It's only _luck _that it hasn't begun snowing already. Unless we start moving, we might as well set up camp!" he pointed out indignantly. "Maybe breed ourselves a spawn of little forest babies and become tree-people!" he threw his arms up sarcastically, waving them in a jelly-like dance above his head.

Zuko continued walking, his hands tucked in his pockets, casually moving away from them as if he were a drifter on his way to greener pastures. "Go, then." He smiled to himself, taking in the beauty of the snow and the trees, and the moonlight shining between the clouds and dense leaves of the winter forage. Freedom had never felt so good. Maybe because he thought it wouldn't be his for long.

"Maybe we will! See if I care when a huge werewolf comes and rips up the _other _half of your face!" Sokka spat out after Zuko maliciously.

Zuko stopped stark still and looked over his shoulder. His golden eyes narrowed at Sokka, and he formed fists at his sides. Advancing on the blue-eyed boy, he saw Suki on Sokka's arm and remembered Katara had been on the other. His face softened, slightly, his eyes looking about for Katara like a hunter after prey. "Katara." he whispered, and turned around in a full circle, his eyes dancing about the woodland.

Sokka's breath hitched in his throat as he looked about wildly. "Oh, no." he swallowed. "Katara?" he called out in panic.

"Don't shout like that! You'll attract animals!" Suki elbowed him. "Predators hunt animals that get separated from their herds." She pointed out, and she didn't have to continue to get the message across to Sokka, who just widened his eyes and stared at Suki in disbelief.

Toph twirled about with faulty eyes darting from one shadow to the next for the leather jacket she recalled seeing Katara tuck her hands into. Katara often wore blue; which she could distinguish with her protanopia, but today, Katara had been wearing another color she couldn't discern from other reds, greens and yellows. Aang spotted the fading tracks from Katara's hi-top gray sneakers and followed them, suddenly realizing that the snow had kicked up in the older boys' discussion. The others followed him without any spoken agreement, but knowing he often knew Katara better than anyone else, and trusting him to lead the way.

He came to an abrupt stop about ten feet from a clearing, squinting in the dark to see Katara standing with her arms at her sides and her back to them, her head tilted back with wind-knotted tresses of dark brown hair blowing to one side. They followed her gaze and a sickening vision overwhelmed them with nausea. Sokka turned his head away from the weather-beaten rope noose dangling from the redwood before them, Suki did the same, burying her face in his chest.

Toph stared in awe at the noose, entwining her fingers with Aang's as she took his hand.

Katara was hugging herself, unable to tear her eyes from the noose hung in the tree. She swore she could see the ghost of a dead girl choking up there, like the echo of a long lost horror movie that is left on the screen of an abandoned movie theater. She swore she could hear a killer cackling at the struggling, suffocating girl. She swore she saw dying eyes beg for help. Once upon a time, death had whispered through these woods.

"Katara." Zuko stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

She was jarred back to reality. "Oh." She shook her head. "Sorry, just got … a little distracted. It's creepy here." She turned around and gave a weak smile, tightening her grip on her own arms, just over the bandages from the taser burns.

Zuko nodded, his eyes trailing to the noose. "No kidding. Come on, we might as well go."

"Aww, come on! I thought we were going up to the mansion!" Toph squawked out irately. "Don't tell me _you've _gone scaredy-cat too, Sparky!" she groaned in annoyance.

The mansion? Katara recalled that Jake's portal to mid-world, in The Waste Lands, had been a door with the wooden carved key in a house in New York the boy and Eddie, the prisoner, had vaguely called 'The Mansion'. The place with the creepy drywall hand and hungry brick mouth that had tried to eat Jake. She shuddered at the thought, and saw Zuko do the same. She remembered again that he'd already read the whole series. Sokka was too busy keeping himself from pissing his pants to get the reference.

"Haven't you been freaked out enough for one night?" Aang peered sideways at his girlfriend, who rolled her colorblind eyes and dismissed him with a huff.

"Hell no!"

Zuko looked around, feeling his adventurous side return slightly. He struggled with himself upon the decision, knowing he had somehow become their leader in the midst of all this anarchy, but eventually looked up in the direction he was sure that the mansion was. He'd stumbled upon it before, but he hadn't been inside, as he was sure Toph intended to. His golden eyes wandered to Katara's blue ones, asking for permission, though she only replied with a foreboding and grave expression.

In reply to the silence, Toph clapped her hands loudly and rubbed them together. "Alrighty then! Let's go!"

Aang grabbed Toph's arm and swung her around. He didn't usually stand up to her, but when he did, she rarely argued. "No!" he shrieked at her. "Look; it's starting to snow." He pointed out, and looked around at the snow. His eyes settled back on her face and he did a double take. "Is that a _nose piercing?_" he asked in horror, wide gray eyes and his mouth agape.

Toph gave a small, nervous smile. "Yeah." She shrugged up her shoulders. "Like it?"

Aang let go of her arm. "Boy, you really are a piece of work." He turned around and began to walk back in the fading snow tracks they'd left, back toward the car and bike. He tucked one hand into his tan cargo pants' pocket and used the other to throw aside to illustrate his point.

Toph gave a long breath. "What?" she held her hands out, unsure what she'd done to set him off.

Aang turned around, still walking backwards. "You know, it's like I don't even matter! First you're asking me where I'm going all the time, then you're checking my phone, hacking my Facebook, bugging my house, like I'm some kind of evil villain, then you're helping Katara get fried like a fly in a bug-zapper, piercing your nose and insisting we hang around in a noose-decorated forest and an eerie mansion that may or may not be the hiding place of some serial kidnapper that's been hanging around our town!" he threw both hands up, eyes wide and his lips moving fast.

Katara looked to Zuko, both of them looking surprised. "You knew?" they both asked at once.

Toph was taken aback. Like, _literally. _She drew her head back as if she were offended. "Where the hell are you going with this, twinkletoes?" she seethed, and drew down her brows.

Aang frowned at her, still moving away. "What the hell is up with you? You've been in some kind of tailspin for _weeks!_" he stopped and yelled across the snowy woodland.

Toph stalked up to him, a softened face, and the others walked up behind her. Something bad was about to happen; they all recognized the energy. "Nothing's up with me, Aang, I don't see what I've done to piss you off!" she put her hands on her hips indignantly.

"Of course you don't." Aang brought his brows down, hard and agitated. If this had been an epic movie, and he had any hair, it would be whipping in the wind right about now. "You never see how anything you do could ever _possibly _affect anyone else, because you don't see other people. You just see _you, _and how the rest of the world revolves around _you._"

"_That _is **not **fair!" Toph took one hand from her hip and poked him in the chest. "You're just trying to deflect all this because _you _know I'm right!" she shoved him with both hands, feeling a lump in her throat. "That's what it is, isn't it? I'm good right up until you _fuck _me, and then you can just go and find your next _conquest, _right?" she jutted her jaw out a little bit, her eyes red and her words tumbling over the lump in her throat like a rickety old rust-bucket of a car on those stupid speed bumps. "_Right, Aang?" _she heard her own voice crack and she felt sick.

Aang felt a little bit sick too, but his irritation overruled his sympathy. He turned around and continued to leave, through the snow and woodland.

"That's it, walk away!" Toph screamed after him.

Sokka and Suki exchanged careful glances. Suki reached out and touched Toph's shoulder, only to be shrugged away. The shorter girl pulled a face and looked down to the snow, feeling tears prickle in her eyes. She sniffed sadly and swallowed hard. "Toph, are you-,"

"I'm fine." Toph turned around and wiped at her eyes, careful not to smudge any of her thick eyeliner, another thing Aang disliked. She drew in a shaky breath, before exhaling mist into the air. She suddenly realized she wanted to go home, but had no idea where home was. She lived with Aang, for the most part.

Katara bit her lip; Aang was her best friend, he never freaked out like this. Even if Aang was her best friend, she was obligated now to give Toph somewhere to stay; it was only fair, Suki had issues at home, and Zuko's place was, well, Zuko's place … "Hey, Toph, how about a sleepover tonight?" she offered suddenly. Zuko glanced sideways at her as if she were out of her mind, but said nothing.

Toph smiled softly. "I'd like that."

* * *

><p>Katara found herself behind the kitchen island, with a corked bottle of tequila in one hand and a cloth in the other, wiping up the spill before her. She had spent the evening pouring for Toph, until finally the girl had passed out, forehead-first onto the counter, knocking over her drink. Katara had moved Toph to the couch in the next room, but was clearing up the last remnants of the night. Sokka was gone; he and Suki had taken off.<p>

"Hey." She heard a voice; male, she presumed, by the depth.

Katara didn't look, she just began making apologies to her father for the passed out teenager on the living room couch. "I'm sorry about Toph, she and Aang had a fight, she's just staying the night, I'll make sure she doesn't puke anywhere-,"

Zuko interrupted her, knowing she thought he was her father and unable to keep himself from saying what he wanted to. "You shouldn't have let her stay here."

Katara blinked her eyes slowly and sighed, recognizing his voice finally. "What would you have done?" she avoided eye contact and let her eyes roam over the wipe-streaks on the counter.

"I'd have told her to go patch things up with Aang."

Katara scowled, looking up and finally taking a look at his face; his weight on one foot and his hands tucked into his pockets, he was standing stark still, watching her. She was unnerved that she didn't know ho long he'd been there. "Relationships don't work that way. Things don't _get _patched up overnight with a few hugs and kisses. Aang runs, Toph drinks, my father fucks, I read, you drive, Sokka goes for a walk, we all have coping mechanisms. Sometimes they clash."

Zuko rolled his eyes, removing his hands from his pockets and crossing his arms over his chest. "Things are only going to get worse the longer they leave it. You _know _they're supposed to be together, and you just let them get into a fight like they're the sort of people who can handle and work through a disagreement." He leant one way, against the arch and removed all weight from one foot, letting it dangle at the side of the practical foot, the end of his shoe coming into contact with the floor.

"Well, how will they run a relationship if they can't get past a single fight?" Katara turned her back to him and put the tequila away, tossing the cloth on the small, remaining pile of unwashed laundry. "They say the first fight's the worst, maybe they'll get past this and be stronger. They love eachother." She told herself optimistically.

It was Zuko's turn to scowl. "This isn't a fairytale; love doesn't just magically make things better. In fact, it complicates things. It makes it _harder _for two people who are naturally evasive to work through a problem that neither wants to admit is there. Toph has trust issues. Aang has self-importance issues. You just made it easier for them to drift apart because of them."

Katara gave a snort of a laugh, shutting the drinks cabinet. "Why do you care what happens between them? Aang's my best friend, and I don't." she turned around and braced herself on the kitchen island, her elbows locked.

Zuko sighed and uncrossed his arms, allowing them to dangle at his sides again, pushing away from the archway and approaching the kitchen island. He drew out the stool and sat down. "I don't know; they have something I don't. Maybe it's that." He thought aloud, propping his elbows on the counter and putting his face in his hands tiredly.

Katara looked down at him with a sympathetic smile, before allowing a smirk on her face. "Nope; you're jealous that they're _able _to walk away from one another. Because this whole idea of being pinned down to Lydia and a baby is making you feel like a bird in a cage. That's why you wanted to go out trekking in the woods. You need a little bit of freedom." She assessed astutely, considering bringing out the tequila again.

Zuko snorted a laugh, looking up at her. "You don't overlook much."

"Nope." Katara raised a hand and poked herself in the forehead. "Twenty-twenty up here." She dropped her hand again and toyed with the peeling edge of the counter.

Her friend smiled briefly and looked away. "I've been thinking about the Blue Spirit. I was thinking maybe … it's time I stop with it. I mean, if a kid is going to be depending on me, is it really fair for me to risk my life every night?"

Katara shut her eyes and raised her brows, with a knowing smile. "Don't; at least not yet. I have a feeling things aren't going to play out like you think they're going to." She reached across the counter and put her hand on his shoulder. "Just hang in there."

Zuko's brief smile was extended somewhat, and the corners of his eyes crinkled admiringly at her optimism. "How do you fuckin' do it?" he shook his head with a tiny chuckle.

"Do what?" she smiled at him, taking her hand back and plucking again at the peeling counter.

"That. You know, the whole optimistic … always-_Zen _thing that you've got going on. How the fuck do _you _know things aren't as bad as I think they are? What? All of a sudden you _like _that psycho-sadistic smug little bitch-,"

"I never said I did." Katara interrupted him with a laugh. "I'm just saying … _maybe _things aren't what they seem. Don't let her start dictating your life, because for all you know, she might not even …" she stopped herself. Oh, crap. She'd nearly gone there. She needed something to-

Zuko sat straight and furrowed his brow. Katara tried to turn away from him, as if she was trying to reach for a cloth again, but his hand shot out and he grasped her forearm. She whipped her head back to face him, her ponytail snapping at her shoulder. Her brows were down just as hard, though more as a defense mechanism. After a very long pause of silence, Zuko asked the inevitable question. "Katara, do you know something I don't?" he growled out.

"No." she suddenly answered, struggling not to become wide-eyed and wary.

"Katara," he warned, getting out of his seat and staring darkly into her eyes with his good brow down and the corners of his mouth tugged down the same.

"I said no." she insisted coldly.

Zuko's eyes shifted to the dark mark under Katara's chin. It was a purple-brown bruise that had possibly been there since yesterday. "Where did you get that?" he reached out with the other hand and gently touched her chin, tilting it up, examining the bruise. His touch was soft, though his voice was stern.

Katara jerked her head from him and tried to pull free of his grip on her arm, but it was no use. "Get off me." She finally instructed him, using one hand to try to peel his hand off of her arm. She didn't succeed.

Zuko took her other arm exactly the same and jolted her back into paying attention to him. "Look, I'm only going to ask you again." He threatened.

Katara didn't take well to this. "Then what? You gonna hit me?" she hissed.

"Answer the fucking question." Zuko's grip tightened and he bared his teeth momentarily. "Is Lydia even pregnant?" he asked, with a swallow and a frown.

There was a _painfully_ long, deafening silence. It wasn't at all awkward, but cold, indignant estrangement lingered in the air like a tangled wire of knotted, mixed emotions. It was as understanding as a wolf was to an orphaned lamb. Zuko cracked a little more, like a frozen china vase being put in an oven.

"**ANSWER ME!" **he bellowed mercilessly.

"No!" Katara winced at his voice. She allowed a single tremble to course through her body and she whimpered, turning her face away from him.

Zuko's grip seemed to grow cold, like ice spreading on her skin. His fingernails dug into her as they tightened to the point where they couldn't tighten any further. "_How_? How did you know? _Why_?" he heard his own voice and he recognized it as his father's. He tried to ignore it but here he was, just like Ozai, hurting the person he loved the most in the world.

"Yesterday." Katara panted, his emotions seeming to affect her energy levels. "I heard her on the phone."

Zuko pulled her as close as he could with the counter between them, the two stools forgotten and knocked onto the floor in the midst of this anarchy. "Why didn't you tell me?" he seethed into her face, like a poisonous snake readying its venom.

"She stole my necklace!" she yelled, almost as if trying to make an excuse. "She said she'd break it!"

"And you just thought me _knowing, _and _not _losing sleep and going nuts trying to figure this _hoax _out, would just, what? Complicate things? Good to know you trust me so fucking much, Katara." He suddenly let go of her, pushing her back a little. She could have fallen into the glass cabinets, but she'd stopped herself before such a thing could happen. Zuko turned his back to her and let out a primitive grunt. "I'll be at home. _Drunk._ If you call me, I'm not going to answer." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Zuko-," she tried hopelessly.

"_Don't." _he cut her off. "Just _don't._"

And he walked away, lighting a cigarette before he was even free of the house. He needed to be drunk, as soon as possible. He needed to be so drunk that he wouldn't even dream of her tonight. So drunk that her image was replaced by dancing jellybeans, and that he didn't care when the snow battered his windows and he remembered the good days in the snow, the falling through ice, the sledding down steep road hills and the snowball fights. He intended to find the nearest bar and wallow in it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay for sexy angry Zuko. Yay for Taang too … I think it's going to be a real shocker when the whole 'kidnapper has photos of you naked' thing comes up, and Katara gets pissed that he was pissed for her keeping a fake-baby secret when he neglected to tell her that her life was in danger. Ya know; that'[s always a bummer, isn't it? When your buddy keeps things like that secret from you.**

**Do you like the pets? I figured; Katara needs a puppy, and Foo-foo-cuddly-poops was just TOO enticing for Sokka. You may be wondering, what does she do with all that time NOT spent writing for us? Well, I just got a new kitten (I'm a sucker for animals that will die unless I do something as you may know), whose name is Zenn, because it was just SO 'Zen' how we got him, aaaaaand I have my horsies to look after, and I have an extremely time-consuming boyfriend, and I'm reprogramming my fucking computer game, so yup, I'm pretty booked up.**

**But yeah, I have been neglecting my lovely readers :( I vewi vewi sowi. **

**On the plus side, I've taken it upon myself to umm … write up the umm … sex scenes … and stuff in this story in a companion piece named 'Life Is Like A Love Song'. So far it's just the hilarious/sexy Christmas scene where Suki and Sokka GET IT AWN and Suki's panties take a hard knock, if you know what I mean, but there will be more. Next up on it is the Taang first-time scene. The EROTIC one. **

**I assure you, to satisfy your Zutara needs, there will be the fantasies inside Zuko/Katara's heads. Muahahahahaaaa!**

**REVIEW!**

**P.s. Lost my nose ring in the swimming pool :'( got 2 new ones :) Oh, and has anyone else noticed that it's slim pickings for Zutarians lately? I mean, almost NOTHING has been updated! WTF? So, here, this should keep you going for a little while! xxx REVIEW!**


	19. Toffee Crunch

After Saturday's little fallout, Katara had called a four-way call to Azula, Mai and Ty Lee to let them know that everything was off. She would just have to deal with losing the necklace. As soon as Zuko confronted Lydia, she knew that the necklace would be no more. She made sure to thank them for all their help, which wasn't enough for them. They insisted that now things were only going to get worse, and if she wasn't going to be able to handle it, the necklace wasn't the only thing going to get hurt on Monday. Katara didn't listen; she insisted that things were in Zuko's hands now.

She still didn't trust him with the situation, but nothing could be done about it now.

So Monday swung around after a depressing, blizzard-ridden Sunday spent playing poker with a hungover Toph and finally getting around to the laundry, and her homework. Monday's air had something sickening about it. It brought on that familiar twisted feeling in Katara's gut she'd experienced many a day before; it was the legendary 'bad feeling' you heard so much about on TV, in movies etcetera, and Katara knew that Zuko and Lydia were going to clash today like two opposing seven-nation armies.

Restlessly, Katara drummed her fingers on the desk before her, her pen in hand and her mind elsewhere. Toph sat next to her in math, also with her mind elsewhere. She didn't know if she and Aang were over, or just fighting; Aang never got like this. For brief, _very _brief, second, she wondered if perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps she was just freaking out because she had a history of people letting her down. Maybe Aang wasn't cheating on her, and she really _was_ 'acting up'.

The buzzer went off painfully loud in Katara's head. She shoveled her books and other educational paraphernalia into her shoulder bag and pulled it over her shoulder. Toph got up, shoving her things into her rucksack and hurling it onto one shoulder. The two walked out of the classroom in silence, along with the school of other students walking out. About two halls away from the class, Toph finally spoke.

"So what happens now?" she breathed out the words. It was lunchtime; that's what she was referring to. Katara had told her about the fallout between herself and Zuko, and about the revelation of the truth, and how he was totally fucking pissed off with her.

"Now Lydia screws us over as much as she can before she finally decides to leave us alone." Katara answered dryly, her hand tightening around her bag's strap. "You ready?" she asked, as the doors into the cafeteria appeared at the end of the hall, her walk as deliberate as a soldier at war.

"That doesn't matter. Are _you?_" Toph looked aside to Katara.

Katara shut her eyes, the two still moving. "I'll have to be." She paused in front of the doors and took a cautious breath, before letting go of her bag and pushing both doors open. She walked into a completely silent cafeteria, and the first two things that filled her vision were Zuko and Lydia, standing ten feet apart in the middle of the room, staring daggers at one another. The bubble had already been burst; that much was clear.

Lydia snapped her head to Katara and let out a feral grunt. _"You." _She snarled wickedly. _"I __**warned **__you." _She drew her hand back and shoved it into her pocket, pulling out the necklace. Zuko made no move for it; Katara hadn't expected him to. Lydia hurled the necklace across the length of the cafeteria, aiming at the brick wall at the end of it. The next ten seconds happened in slow motion.

Ty lee shot out of her seat and looked to Azula frantically. The cheerleader put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Give me a boost!" she yelled, despite being right at the girls face.

Azula was confused for a fraction of a second; she was rarely surprised for long; and only barely had time to stick her hands together and interlace her fingers before Ty Lee's sneaker came down hard on it and she capitalized on the rebound of the motion, catapulting her friend into the air as high as she could. She was vaguely aware of Mai standing up as the whole cafeteria watched the captain of the cheerleading team hover in the air, grasping the necklace in one pampered hand.

Lydia also capitalized. She capitalized on everyone being distracted and ducked past Zuko, holding her bag a little tighter and making a run for it. Her bag swayed to one side and hit Zuko as she fled, making him aware of what was going on, and tearing his eyes from Ty Lee in the air and setting them like a target on the blonde. He grabbed for her but missed, and resorted to chasing her through the heavy cafeteria doors, through a corridor, knocking over a teacher with the door on accident, though paying no care.

Mai was under Ty Lee like a shot, ready to help Azula catch the girl, though she supposed it wouldn't end well. She was right, as it were; Ty Lee's foot came down hard on Mai's wrist, rather than the open palm that had been ready to catch her sneaker, and Mai felt her wrist crack under the shock. Ty Lee's other foot grazed Azula's thumb, though otherwise just sinking downward. She fell forward, and in the tangle of arms and legs that the three fell in, she found herself slammed over a plastic cafeteria chair, before it wavered and fell back, dropping her onto the floor, clutching where the back of the chair had smashed into her stomach.

She rarely swore, but this was one of those times where it was warranted even of the pope. There was some frantic confusion in which she felt herself getting dizzy, until Azula, mostly uninjured, grabbed Mai by her upper arm and tugged her up. Mai's right hand was clasped around her left wrist, her thumb squeezing, checking for the fracture, with her teeth clenched, but her eyes were trained on Ty Lee, who was still clutching her middle.

Within seconds, Azula assessed the situation and barked at Mai, reaching down for Ty Lee. "Mai; bring the car around." She snapped at her friend.

Elsewhere, Zuko had gripped Lydia by the collar and shoved her against the row of lockers so hard he'd dented one of them. Both were panting hard and glaring angrily, with fingers clamped on each other's clothing like claws, and the backs of their throats cold with the breaths of sprinting. Zuko swallowed in thought, still unsure as to what he planned to do. He knew he wanted to fuck with her head; just as she'd fucked with his for the whole weekend.

Lydia bared her teeth and spat venomous words at him. "What … now?" she panted. "Are you going … to hit me? Hit … a girl?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "I should." He growled out. "I should fucking _destroy _you."

Lydia let out a small laugh. "Go ahead … take your hit; you'll _never _be rid of me." She grinned through her breaths. "If you really want to get hit with a _statutory rape charge_." She added wickedly.

Zuko let go of her and took a step back, his fists at his sides and his face the picture of hatred.

"What's the matter, Zuzu?" Lydia regained her breath and sneered at him. "Don't tell me you're afraid…?"

"Fuck you, Lydia." He shook his head, still taking ragged breaths; he was a heavy smoker these days, and he was out of breath for a lot longer than some other people.

"Already did that, love." She chortled in her annoying English accent.

Zuko didn't answer; he turned his back to her and began to walk. In a way, she was right; he couldn't hit a girl, it went against his honor. Somehow hitting the Painted Lady was different; she'd been able to defend herself. As much as he wished he could his Lydia, he couldn't. "You _think _you know American law, just because you're familiar with _one _term." He spoke with his back to her. "You should familiarize yourself with the term 'restraint order'."

Lydia let out a short grunt of dissatisfaction. "You son of a bitch."

Zuko paused and considered going after her again, but decided against it and continued to walk.

She gave a feral growl, like that of a cat. Then she suddenly remembered something. She'd known by the words in his sleep that Zuko was in love with Katara, and it had been excessively obvious that Katara was in love with Zuko by her defensiveness on Friday. She cringed inwardly; it was like a fucking fairytale. There was no way in hell she would let them get together. No way in _hell. _"She doesn't love you back, you know." She jeered with a disparaging curl of the lip.

This time he stopped in his tracks and his fists tightened. He looked over his shoulder with an expression so dark she wondered if he would rip her to shreds with that sharp tongue of his. "Shut your fucking mouth." He ordered with a low undertone to his deliberate voice.

Lydia continued malevolently. "I'm not surprised, either. She's the quintessential _psycho_, and you?" she took two malignant steps, almost circling him with them. "… You're nothing but a deviant misfit, pretending that there's more to you than there really is."

Zuko snarled viciously at her. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I don't? Well then tell me; what am I missing?"

Containing himself, he shook his head, though he was grinding his teeth in his head. "_You _are a sad, _pathetic_, substandard _imitation_ of a human being." He looked away, his back to her, pushing open one of the doors of the empty hallway. Nobody much hung around in this hall; everyone pretty much kept away from the math block to keep away from the math _teachers_.

When he looked back through the door, Aang and Sokka were walking toward him, down the hall. Aang's cell phone was pressed to his ear and Sokka was jingling his keys in one hand at his side. "Hey, your sister sent us." Sokka told the scowling boy approaching them.

"Shh!" Aang snapped at Sokka, trying to listen on the phone.

Zuko frowned and looked to Sokka. "Why did she send you?"

"Well, Mai and Azula just left to take Ty Lee to hospital. Aang's on the line with the hospital, letting 'em know they're coming." Sokka gave a small scowl of his own. "Azula wouldn't tell _me _what was going on, but she was _fine _to tell Aang…"

"Aang's the one with cell credit, dumbass." Zuko rolled his eyes, joining them. They turned and proceeded to walk back toward the cafeteria. "Ty Lee got hurt saving that fucking necklace." He grunted in annoyance. "I have one major bone to pick with your sister, man." He looked sideways to Sokka.

"How come?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

Zuko scoffed a humorless laugh. "She _knew _about the hoax. And she just … conveniently left it out. Even after I saved her ass at JCI." He shook his head, raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Aang, how'd you know about-,"

"Shh!" Aang snapped, listening to the phone. "Okay, thanks…" he spoke to the person on the other end and hung up. He looked to the other two with a sharp expression on his face. "Ty Lee's pregnant. Your sister's got more foresight than anyone I've ever known, because in four seconds, she diagnosed a miscarriage." He shook his head and tucked the phone into his pocket. "They just got to the hospital."

* * *

><p>Azula stared at her hand. Ty Lee had been squeezing it so hard, so tight; terrified. Now Ty Lee could be just a memory if things went bad. She was sitting in the hospital waiting room, slouched back in the seat, alone. Mai was in casualty getting a cast fitted for the hairline fracture at the end of her ulna, and Azula was waiting. It had been far too long. She knew she'd caught on quickly, she knew that nothing she'd done could have been done better, but she was worried. It wasn't a feeling she could fight off, or one she liked.<p>

She'd been worried when she'd found out that Zuko had tried to kill himself. She'd been a mere eleven or twelve year old; she didn't quite know how old she'd been, she simply remembered crying into her uncle's shoulder and praying that her brother didn't die. She never told anyone this; it would ruin her reputation, and it would ruin the way her father thought of her. She needed her father's acceptance, the way Zuko once had.

Azula was vaguely aware that her foot was tapping nervously on the generic gray carpet on the waiting room floor, and vaguely aware of the other people in the room, waiting for news on their family members, friends, loved ones, etcetera, when she heard a voice she'd grown to hate over the past few weeks; the voice of Ty Lee's mother.

"My baby! Where is she?" the woman was whining.

As Ty Lee's father tried to calm his wife, Azula rolled her eyes, sat up and leant forward, putting her face in her hands, trying to mask her identity from those two idiots. They didn't fucking deserve to be here. Sure, Ty Lee's care was based on their healthcare, but otherwise, their daughter meant nothing to them. They could say they'd _raised her a good catholic girl, _but they hadn't raised her fuck all. She'd raised herself. And Azula's _own _mother had raised her. Ty Lee had been hanging out with her and Mai since the very beginning. Ursa had met Ai, Ty Lee's mother, at a charity function that Scorsese, Sisko and Tamesis had been funding partially, and invited her for tea.

Ty Lee had made friends then with Azula and Mai, who'd already been friends. Azula wondered what life would be like if Ursa were still around. Perhaps Ty Lee wouldn't have been with Haru in the first place, maybe she'd have had some of the insight Ursa had drilled into Azula as a child. _'Don't you __**ever **__date a boy you can't handle the way you handle your brother. Got it?' _

Azula managed a tiny smile with her face buried in her hands. Ursa had been a good mother. Her mother had been somehow … _proud _of her psychoanalytic skills. She knew her mother had been unnerved of them when she was younger, and Azula couldn't deny she had some sick thoughts in her head that had continued to strain the relationship between mother and daughter, but around age ten, she and her mother had begun to like one another.

"Azula." A familiar voice was heard, and she immediately looked up to see her cousin approaching, from the emergency room.

"Lu Ten." She stood up and approached him, folding Mai's winter dusted over one arm and clutching Ty Lee's bag over her shoulder. "How is she? What do you know?"

Lu Ten continued to walk toward her and put a hand on her shoulder. "She's fine. She's going to be fine." He assured her. "She's with the OBGYN right now, but in a few hours, you should be able to see her in the ICU. The baby didn't make it." He looked down for a moment.

Azula swallowed and gave a small nod. "Good. I mean … not that the baby died, but I'm … glad she's okay." She exhaled carefully.

"Where's your other friend?" Lu Ten took his hand from Azula's shoulder and tucked it into his white coat. "You two should sit this out together."

"She's in casualty. She fractured her wrist when Ty Lee fell on us." Azula explained sharply.

"Are you o-,"

"Fine. Absolutely fine." Azula held up her hands to show she was fine. "Zuzu's still at school, and Ty Lee's parents …" she gestured over her shoulder to the two panicking nitwits clinging to each other and whining to the receptionist. "You should update them." She managed, a tiny frown on her face, her once formally done-up hair now held by a simple low ponytail at the back of her head, with her bangs framing her face.

Lu Ten nodded and gave her another squeeze, on the upper arm, before walking past her toward Ty Lee's parents. Azula glanced at the door marked 'casualty' and decided she didn't mind walking through people whining in pain if it meant getting to sit with her friend. She walked through the door and was immediately met by the sound of a crying seven-year-old boy who'd possibly fractured his arm doing something stupid his older brother had dared him to do. She spotted Mai sitting at the end of a hospital bed, eyeing the young doctor fitting her cast. Azula suddenly felt a little better; Mai never trusted people to do an adequate job, and she could see the girl scrutinizing the doctor's work.

"Too tight." Mai was saying, just as Azula got close enough to be a factor in their conversation.

"Mai, stop telling the man how to do his job." She raised a hand and inspected her nails.

The doctor glanced at her and was unnerved; she often had that effect on people.

"Fine." Mai scoffed.

"I'm done. Just leave your insurance details for your rich parents to pay up." The intern gave a dark scoff. "Fuckin' high school princesses …" he muttered under his breath.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "You know, I hate that stereotype." She narrowed her eyes. "If you took the time to actually _look _at me, you'd be able to tell I'm not exactly the _daddy's girl _**type.**" She wiggled her fingers in the cast to see if they were movable. She winced a little at how her wrist reacted to the motion. "Are you _sure _you did this right?" she snapped at him.

"I did it perfect. It's _supposed _to hurt. Did you _see _the fracture on the x-ray?" he eyed her with a pretty self-explanatory look on his face. He was clean-shaven, had a short style of thick black hair, brushed back, with tanned, sun-kissed skin. He was a Hawaiian, obvious at first glance. It was kind of confusing, though; considering this guy was pretty fucking serious, and Hawaiians were supposed to be laid back people.

"Whatever." Mai raised her uninjured hand in a motion that expressed disinterest, and pushed herself off of the hospital bed and stood on her own two feet. With her good hand, she snatched her coat from Azula. "I'm not a high school _princess._" She spat with disdain.

The intern scoffed. "And I'm not a doctor."

"You're right. You're not." Mai turned and smirked at him. "You're a _Bambi._"

The doctor frowned at her and rolled his eyes, before glaring across the emergency room to another intern, a red-haired girl with freckles who was grinning at him. She was a good two years older than him. Unbeknownst to Azula, the redhead had called across casualty to 'Bambi' while he was beginning to inspect the x-rays of Mai's wrist in front of her. Mai had found this somewhat amusing, but it had been forgotten as she scrutinized his work on her arm.

He'd tried to explain it was because he had skipped two grades, and as a result was the youngest intern here, at a mere twenty-three, and she'd heard, but had just continued to boss him around. Besides, he didn't care what some high school yuppie thought of him. Even his fellow interns had to admit he was a shark when it came to the competition between them. Next to Lu Ten, he was the best performing first-year intern at the hospital, by way of kissing his residents (and attendings) Asses.

The two left the intern to himself and continued into the waiting room, sat down and eyed the Sisko patriarch and matriarch, over their shoulders. Now Ai Lyn, Ty Lee's mother, was clinging to her husband and sobbing into his arm, most likely that the baby hadn't made it. Haku, Ty Lee's father, was staring at Lu Ten, viciously angry. He was whispering in threatening, low tones, begging for a different update. At this point, Mai and Azula were sure they'd rather the baby was alive and Ty Lee was dead.

"They make me sick." Azula murmured, vexed and disgusted, before looking to Mai in concern. "How's your hand?"

Mai gave a weak smile. "It's a good pain." She dropped her face back into apathetic indifference. "Heard anything?"

Azula nodded briefly. "Lu Ten says she's with the OBGYN right now. Baby didn't make it, she's going to be fine." She thought on this for a second, before adding; "In more ways than one."

* * *

><p>Katara glanced at her reflection in the glass window to her left. She was wearing her necklace, her mind focused on Ty Lee; how she'd ended up in hospital rescuing it. Detention. She had yet to know <em>why <em>she was in detention, but that didn't matter. It was probably something to do with shoving the teacher that had tried to send Ty Lee to the nurse instead of hospital. Either way, she supposed to deserved detention. Not for shoving the teacher; that she didn't regret at all. She deserved it for allowing someone to risk their life over an inanimate object, simply because it meant something to her.

She thought to the actual event. Ty Lee had manipulated her own body in the air like some kind of bird, with skill and precision. And Azula had to have been pretty strong to throw her friend up with no cheerleading experience whatsoever. Katara let out a groan of despair and dropped her head, forehead coming down hard on the desk before her. "Ow." She muttered.

"… Anyway, he walked away from me and started chatting up this redhead at the bar!" Toph whispered under her breath, finishing her story. "I can't fucking believe him."

Katara lifted her head an inch and dropped her forehead back to the desk again miserably. "Stop talking." She moaned into the wood only an inch from her lips.

Toph glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "You still upset about getting detention?"

"No. About Ty Lee being in hospital. She should've just let Lydia break the damn necklace." Katara gave a small grunt. She didn't know if she meant it.

"And about Zuko. You know … that he has one more reason to hate you now." Toph glanced aside and grew a grin on her face, before elbowing Katara in the arm. "There's still angry sex to be had. I think that's the best anyhow."

Katara turned pink. "Shut up Toph."

Toph smirked at Katara. "I bet you and Sparky would make nice-looking babies too …" she raised a hand and scratched her chin.

The pink on Katara's cheeks turned to red, but she said nothing. What Toph wanted was for her to react, and when she did, she'd go off about how Katara liked Zuko as more than a friend, etcetera, etcetera, and Katara knew all this about Toph. So she said nothing. Hopefully Toph would get bored talking to herself and eventually fall asleep. Katara wondered how Toph could talk about sex without talking about Aang. They'd been so close once.

* * *

><p>Katara finally got to the hospital at five thirty, with Toph beside her. They had foolishly hitched a ride with a creepy old man who had tilted his rear-view mirror so he could discreetly stare at Toph's chest the whole way, but now they were at the hospital and all that, before, was forgotten. The two walked straight into the waiting room and looked around for anyone linked to Ty Lee.<p>

"What …" someone sounded angry, behind them. "… the _hell _are you doing here?"

Katara looked over her shoulder. _'Oh, __**shit.**_' she thought in exasperation. Zuko was standing with his sister at a coffee cart at the other end of the room, both of them drinking coffee. Aang was walking up with a coffee in one hand as well, with a new magazine in his hand; it looked like he'd finished one, returned it to the coffee table attached to the waiting room chairs, and gotten a new one. "I-,"

Zuko stood straight and cut her off. "I asked you a question!" he snapped.

Katara drew her head back in surprise. "Why don't you let me answer?" she retorted indignantly. "It's a free fucking country; I'm allowed to be here." She raised an eyebrow at him.

He frowned, put the coffee down on the cart and stepped toward her. "Yeah? Well, then, how come I'm about to _physically_ remove you from the premises?" he glared at her, advancing.

"You put your hands on me and I'll sue you so hard you'll be paying out your ass for the rest of your life, Scorsese." She narrowed her eyes, using his last name because it bothered him, and she knew it. It distanced her from him, making it easier to be cold.

"Fuck you, _Marina_." He growled darkly at her, like a wolf eyeing its prey.

Azula rolled her eyes and grabbed her brother's arm. "Stop it, Zuzu. She has just as much right as you do to be here. More so, perhaps." She reasoned. "Let her be."

Zuko shrugged off Azula's hand. "No." he frowned, golden eyes still fixed on Katara. "I want you _out _of here, _right now._"

The brunette shook her head in disbelief. "I don't- Why?" she made a face.

"Because it's _your _fault Ty Lee got hurt in the first place." He hissed viciously, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Katara stared. _'Ouch, man. Seriously. __**Ouch**__'. _She shook her head again and continued to stare, her mouth falling open a little. _'You think I don't know that?' _Katara finally shut her mouth and regained seriousness. She looked to Azula. "Hey, where's Mai?" she looked about.

"She's-,"

Zuko interrupted. "Don't tell her." He whipped his head around to look at his sister.

Azula stared. "You … are … a sad little man." She shook her head, ashamed for him.

Katara peered at him through slits of eyes for a very long time. He stared back with the same look on his face for the long impasse between them. _'I'm not backing down. I'm __**not**__ backing down.' _She promised herself. Her ice blue eyes stared coldly into his like they were trying to shred his mind through them. He glared right back, forcing back against her hard, relentless gaze.

"Fine." She forced out. "Toph, come on." she spoke, still staring him down.

Toph gave Aang one more vicious glance before nodding at Katara and beginning toward the man door. Katara turned her head quickly away from Zuko and began walking away. Anything she felt for him now was replaced with hatred. Sure, she couldn't quite say she'd done nothing to deserve this, but he was totally overreacting. Either way, if Zuko had Sokka and Aang, she guessed that gave her Suki and Toph. She was fine with that.

* * *

><p>Katara sat on the sofa with the new puppy she'd by now named Ollie, with a hot chocolate in one hand and the cordless phone pressed to her ear, in the living room. Her legs were pulled up on the couch and the TV was on low volume, with some crappy, frivolous show called 'America's Next Top Bimbo' or something like that on. Suki was on the other end, talking to Katara while she babysat for her neighbor, and was painting a seven-year-old girl's toenails in glittery pink.<p>

"Yeah, but they're not going to get past it if they don't talk to one another." Katara shook her head, before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"_I know, I know; they can't just be staring at eachother homicidally for the rest of their lives. I was actually kind of surprised about Aang chatting up the girl at the bar. Did she tell you about that?"_

"I tried to block it out. You know how she starts running her mouth and doesn't know when to stop? That's what she was like in detention. Anyway, I don't know if they're _going _to get past it. I mean, people change; and once there's a wedge, people just … drift apart." Katara sighed out the warms of her drink, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder and smoothing the dog beside her.

"_You're just saying that because Zuko wants you to drop dead."_

Katara managed a kind of chuckle and held the phone with her hand again. "Maybe. There are a lot of trust issues there. I mean, the last two months have been _based _on us trying to get to the closeness we had before …" Katara paused and sighed. "Before Lydia drove a wedge there." She thought aloud.

"_Huh. Yeah, think about it; you and Zuko were fine before she showed up."_

Katara opened her mouth to agree, but there was a knock at the door and she instantly looked up, out the window and saw Sokka's car parked in the driveway, in front of the garage in which Hakoda's Mercedes was parked, a black SUV parked behind Sokka's car, and a cop car parked on the street, just by the path from the street across the lawn to the front door. "Suki, there's a … cop car parked in front of my house. With an SUV like the ones on 'Criminal Minds'." She spoke incredulously into the phone.

"_Let me know if Agent Morgan is there." _Suki laughed into the phone.

Katara managed a laugh of her own. "No way. Reid is the cute one."

"_Yeah, cute but not hot."_

"I'm going to have to ring you back." Katara concluded, as she heard her father walking out of his study in the back of the house and approaching the front door. "It might be a work thing for my Dad, but they've never come to the house before."

"_Okay, see you … what, tomorrow?"_

"Yeah." Katara agreed. "Bye, Suki."

"_Bye, Katara."_

Katara pulled the phone from her ear and pressed the red button on it, sitting up a little straighter and looking out the archway into the hall where Hakoda was pulling the door open. In surprise, Hakoda frowned at the occupiers of the doorstep and quickly remembered his son wasn't home. He quickly asked what was wrong and they replied with a rehearsed: "Sir, could we come in? We'd like to talk to you regarding your daughter."

Katara put her hot chocolate on the coffee table and dropped her feet to the floor, panicking. _'Oh, shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. OH shit! This is about the Painted Lady! They've found me out! I'm going to prison!" _She put the phone on the table and looked to Ollie, who was looking at her with his head tilted in curiosity. She imagined how funny it would be if she grabbed the puppy by where, if he were a person, a collar would be, and yelling like in the better Looney Tunes episodes; "You've gotta hide me! I'm not cut out for prison!"

"Katara?" she heard her father's voice from the archway, and she looked up. By his face, she was sure he was thinking the same thing. Not about the Looney Tunes, about the Painted Lady being figured out. He looked to the cop and the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) agent and motioned them into the room amiably, before sitting down on the couch beside his daughter.

The cop and the agent sat down on the other couch. The two couches formed a square angle, and the TV was in the corner, opposite the both of them. Katara grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. "What's going on?" she asked dubiously.

The agent, a woman with long blonde hair to her waist in a braid and warm brown eyes, smiled reassuringly at Katara for a moment and put her briefcase on the coffee table, flipping up the lid of it. The woman was a serious looking one, and the smile was very short-lived, but it did reassure Katara somewhat. She drew out some photographs in a plastic evidence bag from the briefcase and put them in her lap. "Mr. Marina, my name is Agent Jones, these photographs of your daughter were found at the scene from which Jin Territa was rescued." She lifted the pack and handed them to him quite seriously.

Hakoda held the pack in his hand and sifted through them as best he could, keeping them inside it. They were so explicit that they were almost incriminating. Katara leant over to look at them, her face clouding over. Most of them were of her undressing at the end of the day, or entering or exiting the shower in the morning. Some were through the window of the en-suite in her room, some through the large bay window in her bedroom. "Who took these?" Hakoda ground his teeth.

The agent exchanged glances with the black, male police officer sitting beside her, who continued for her. "That's the thing. Are you aware that a girl went missing six weeks ago?"

"I am." Hakoda's logic went to work and he eyed the police officer with contempt. "If these pictures were recovered from a crime scene a month ago, why are they coming to my attention only now?" he glared through narrowed eyes.

"We had to get in contact with the CBI." The police officer explained. "And they were in the middle of investigating a mass suicide in San Francisco. Two weeks were also spent in forensics, trying to lift prints from the photos. None were recovered."

Agent Jones took over again. "Sir, we believe your daughter may be the next target of the serial kidnapper who abducted Jin Territa, Tamsin Wade and multiple other girls matching Katara's description."

Hakoda put the pictures on the coffee table and lifted a hand to his chin. "So, for a month, my daughter could've been kidnapped and gone, while you lingered around with bureaucracy." He gave a nod of indignant logic. "Is that what you're telling me?"

Agent Jones wasn't as bothered by him as the police officer was. "Sir, I've worked on cases like these many times over. The experience I've gathered from them is that the kidnapper slipped up with Jin Territa. We have yet to find out what that slip up was, but he went into hiding as a result, but he'll soon reemerge. Before he does-,"

"Before he does, I want my daughter in protective custody." Hakoda cut her off very calmly.

Katara looked to Hakoda's face and saw unmatchable protectivity on it.

Agent Jones managed a frown on her emotionless face. "Mr. Marina, the reason this meeting was postponed was because we needed participation from our Special Ops team in our strategic plan to lure the kidnapper out of hiding. We also need yours and your daughters participation."

Hakoda narrowed his eyes as much as he could. "What do you need us for?"

"We'd like to issue a tiny GPS transmitter to your daughter, so that in the event of her abduction she'll leave a GPS trail that we can follow to the kidnappers stronghold in order to rescue the remaining missing girls."

Katara and Hakoda both immediately frowned. "You want to use her as _bait._" Hakoda seethed incredulously.

"Essentially, Yes."

The two exchanged glances, father and daughter. The plan was unscrupulous, but it sounded like it would work. It put them already one step ahead of the kidnapper, and prepared for the worst. Who knew how many girls the kidnapper had other than Tamsin Wade? His M.O. was dark-skinned girls with dark hair, Katara thought to herself. A shudder ran up her spine, but she shut her eyes for a moment and opened them to meet her father's stare the same way. She gave a nod, with which she told him she could handle it.

He knew she could, too; she was the Painted Lady.

"You have our co-operation."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: YAY! My writer's block is gone! Sorry, guys, I went to visit my dad and that was the largest creative block I've EVER had. Even music showed nothing to me! Anyway, the only way I could bring my writing back up to speed was by working on my fic 'What If'. So as a result 'The Puppetmaster' episode/chapter is nearly done. Thank you So much, guys for reviewing and reading and waiting! I have an idea that when Katara finds out Zuko knew about the pictures she's going to be pretty mad … Also, I like the idea of them going full-on at it with guns and swords and fists etc.**

**Stay tuned!**

**Also, my cat has not died! Yay!**

**What do you guys think of the estrangement between Aang and Toph?**

**Okay, guys, you know the drill! Click the button! Review!**


	20. Baby Ruth

"Toph? Say something."

The younger girl on the other side of the kitchen table was silent for a long time.

"Toph-"

"Shh!"

Katara paused. "Can I just-,"

"Shh!" Toph stared, her hands on the table in front of her, drumming at it in thought. "I'm processing. Give me time to process." She shut her eyes and took a breath.

Katara bit her lip. "You think it's a bad idea." She stated in insecurity. "Even _you _think it's a bad idea." She stood up and tucked her hands into her pockets nervously. "Oh, shit. Shit, what have I gotten myself into?" she questioned herself.

"Calm down Katara. It's not … It's not a bad idea, it's just … It's _you. _And you're my best friend. It's kind of hard for me to applaud your selflessness and the CBI's unscrupulous, unfailing strategies when my best friend is putting herself in the line of fire." Toph opened her eyes and propped her chin on her hands, sitting at the table of Katara's expensive kitchen. She smiled briefly at Katara in thought.

Katara nodded slowly. "You didn't question it when I was the Painted Lady, though." She pointed out.

"But that was different." Toph frowned with a heavy breath. "The Painted Lady and Katara Marina are different. The Painted Lady is the offender in her situations. And even then, when the Blue Spirit tried to stop you, the only reason he didn't tie you up with synthetic rope and …" she paused for an awkward laugh. "_Whatever_ … was because he was attracted to you."

Katara rolled her eyes. "You mean to the Painted Lady."

Toph opened her mouth with eyes opened wide. "That's what I said."

"No, you said he was attracted to me." Katara scoffed.

Toph laughed awkwardly. "Yeah … uh … actually-"

Katara let herself think back to one of her conversations with Zuko; after she'd been shot. She laughed humorlessly and cut Toph off. "You know, I asked Zuko to help me find and kill the men who killed my mom." She looked Toph in the eye darkly. "I'm going to have to do it on my own now."

Toph shook her head. "You're not on your own. Super-hacker math genius Toph Bei Fong is on your side. With that, what else do you need?" she smiled weakly, but then dropped her expression. "But … we have to talk about this GPS-CBI thingy. It's … it's not safe. Atleast let me lock onto your GPS too and link it up to my laptop. Then I can use a satellite or something to get a heat-seeker view of your location. It'll be easier to find you in case the CBI fucks up."

Katara gave a sort of side-ways nod, looking up in thought. "Hm. Not a bad idea. Sure." She finally nodded normally and looked to Toph explanatively. "They're still working on a GPS that'll last without being removable. Apparently they can't rely on me keeping my clothes on." she shuddered at the thought. "They have ingestible ones, but they don't last long enough."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. They need one that'll like, attach to the lining of your stomach." She grinned at Katara. "And then you'll be traceable forever!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "That's illegal. You can't trace someone if they don't want to be traced."

"Yeah, but law doesn't apply to the government."

"Shut up, Toph." Katara shoved her hands into the pockets of her thick leather jacket. They didn't stay there for long, however as she slapped them to her face and massaged her temples. "Damn it. Talk about a pissed-on day." She shook her head in her hands, moving them over her eyes. "I feel like scotch. How about you?"

Toph's face brightened somewhat. "Sounds good to me." She blinked tiredly. "I hacked Aang's Facebook, you know." She gave a humorless laugh of hurt. "A few weeks ago. That's what started all this shit with us. Some girl looked funny at him, and I instantly started hacking his Facebook, email and phone …" She grunted in annoyance with herself. "Maybe he's right." She dropped her forehead to the table and mumbled into it, her lips softly brushing against the laminate surface as she spoke. "Ugh."

"_Ugh? _What's _'Ugh' _supposed to mean? _'Ugh-I-give-up' _or _'Ugh-Maybe-I-should-make-up-with-Aang'_?" Katara scoffed, moving around the kitchen island to the drinks cabinet. The very cabinet she'd faced as she'd let the secret loose to Zuko. She couldn't really criticize Toph's alienation of Aang when she'd so hugely fucked up with Zuko.

"Don't patronize me, Katara." Toph shook her head on the table.

"Sorry." Katara replied calmly, drawing out the bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses from the glass cabinet before her. She turned and put the three glass objects down in front of Toph. "What should we drink to?" she unscrewed the bottle and poured.

"Drink to … life's stupid fucking _complications._" Toph drawled, at her wit's end. "For once it's us _girls _who have fucked up the relationship."

Katara managed a laugh of sorts. "To complications." She lifted her shot glass.

Toph sat up and lifted her glass. "Here, here." She clinked hers to Katara's and brought it to her lips, knocking it back, the amber liquid trailing straight down her throat and into her belly. "Ah." She breathed afterward. "That's good whiskey." She nodded in fulfillment.

Katara replied in agreement, after knocking her own drink down her throat. "Kelly got it for me; my therapist; as a sort of 'get well soon' present after I got shot. I shared the first two shots of the stuff with Zuko in his uncle's beach house." She shook her head with a dark look on her face.

"Don't freak out, Sweetness. Don't tell Sparky I told you, ya know, because he's homicidal right now, but he's got _major _hots for you. It's really sweet. Maybe that's why he's being such a dick; he wants to trust you, and he's frustrated because he's fighting with himself as it is." Toph smiled up to Katara. "Do with this knowledge good things, young one."

Katara frowned hard for a moment. "Toph, that's not funny."

"What? The Star Wars references?"

"No, the making fun of my liking Zuko. It's not funny. It's a cheap shot. I preferred the sarcasm." Katara exhaled in thought, pouring her and Toph new drinks. Her eyes popped suddenly and she nearly spilled the expensive whiskey all over the counter. _'I didn't tell Toph I liked Zuko. I told Aang and Suki.' _She put the bottle on its end and frowned at Toph for a moment.

Toph stared back. "Hang on … _what_?" she raised one eyebrow.

Katara's mouth formed some misshapen heart and her eyes became lopsided in size in the strange face she pulled. "You took the words out of my mouth." She spoke stoically.

A mild smile grew on Toph's face. Talk about 'love story'. "You like Zuko." She stated simply.

The blue-eyed girl's face clouded over and she scowled. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"Answer me." Toph clapped her glass to the counter curiously. "Do you like Zuko?"

Katara looked away defiantly. "No. I don't." she lied.

"But you did."

"No."

"Come on, Katara-,"

"Fine!" Katara snapped. "But it's like I said; it doesn't matter. If I ever had a chance with him, I blew it a long time ago. With lies and fights and stupid …" she paused and hit the counter with the end of her fist. "… Blonde …" she hit it again. "… _**Bitches.**_" Her fist opened up resignedly and she hung her head. "So it doesn't matter. It never did."

Toph's eyes narrowed. "You don't think you deserve him." She assumed wisely. _'And vice-versa', _she thought to herself.

Katara looked up from the counter and stared at the colorblind girl. "Do I?" she gave a humorless laugh. "Every chance he gives me I _fuck it up._" She scowled again, her face twisting in annoyance with herself. God, how could she have fucked it up so many times over?

Toph was kind of surprised that she held it together like this; maybe Zuko liked her more than she liked him; he'd punched a crate of apples or something for her. Not really very romantic, but whatever. Then Toph reminded herself that Katara was a repressive person. "Well." Toph inhaled conclusively. "You did have a chance, because Sparky did this huge, Shakespearean speech thing while punching shit and proclaiming how he hated himself for ruining the relationship between you two, in my basement. But now, I'll say that chance is pretty much moot." Toph lowered her eyes back to the drinks. "Life's a bitch." She poured herself whiskey.

Katara groaned hatefully at herself, shutting her eyes, lifting a hand and grabbing the bridge of her nose. "That was the same fucking day- the same _fucking __**time**__, _I told Aang and Suki that I _liked _**Zuko**." She covered her eyes with one hand and grunted angrily. "For _fuck's _sake!"

"Bitch with bull-balls." Toph corrected herself, bringing her glass to her lips and knocking back the amber liquid. "Here, here, Katara; to the epic fail that is us." She put the glass down and poured into both glasses. "Drink. Drink until the hurting stops." She mumbled, pained.

And they did.

* * *

><p>Zuko opened the door with a dark, exasperated look on his face. He exhaled at the sight of Mai Tamesis, who held up a bottle of expensive, high-alcohol-content Japanese Sake in her uninjured hand. The two of them were hard drinkers, and Sake, though sometimes straight vodka did the trick too, was their traditional my-life-sucks solution. Not that she was here to get drunk and have sex with him, as they once had - she had a boyfriend, a drop-out-but-otherwise-high-school-senior named Daniel, who was studying motor mechanics at the local college - but more that he was hurting and the girl he loved - yes, she knew - had pissed him off, and Sake fixed most problems.<p>

"I have Sake. You can drink with me, or you can sit and mope because Katara Marina neglected to tell you that Lydia was lying about the imaginary baby." Mai explained calmly. "Drink or Mope."

Zuko scowled. "Drink. I'm already drinking." He blinked slowly and drunkenly. He reached up and ruffled his own hair, leaving it disheveled with a bed-head-look. He turned and left the door open for her.

He wondered for a moment what life would be like if Californian parents were more strict about drinking. Sure, Ozai was less than happy about Azula's drinking, but that was because he _liked _Azula. He had no qualms if Zuko died of liver failure. Then there was Hakoda, who sometimes even bought drinks for his kids. Then again, he had no wife to help him enforce many of the rules and had problems of his own. He imagined Hakoda drank a lot himself, and was probably an example to his kids; so naturally, they drank too when they were down. After that came Aang, whose parents weren't really … fuck, Zuko's drunken mind was too trashed to think on the same subject for so long.

"How long?"

"How long what?" he grumbled, moving away from the door back through the large ballroom to the kitchen, where the expensive marble counter moved at a square angle away from the wall, forming a bar where a bottle of whatever he was drinking sat. He'd forgotten what he'd been downing already. He'd finished it a few minutes ago and had been searching through the regularly locked wine rack in the kitchen for something strong that Ozai didn't drink; Ozai checked the ones he liked, and bought other ones to fill up the rack. He liked to look like he stocked up on expensive shit, and he did, but not because he liked the expensive shit, purely because it _was _expensive shit - when Mai had knocked the door.

"How long have you been drinking?" Mai rolled her eyes, following him into the kitchen, having kicked the large front door shut behind her.

"Since after school. They kicked me out of that seedy little place opposite The Chain Club." Zuko turned to face her and leant against one of the three bar stools before the kitchen island.

"Why?" Mai put the bottle down and picked up the glass on the counter. She blew into it to make sure it hadn't collected dust while he rooted through the drinks, and opened the bottle of Sake.

"I might have punched someone. Who knows … who_ cares_?" he drawled lethargically, taking the bottle from her and pouring into the glass, his eyes focused on the flow of the drink. He put the bottle down and brought the glass to his lips. "Who _fucking cares_?" he mumbled into it, before drinking from it.

"You're an asshole." Mai stared at him, her face clouded over. "Dumbass."

Zuko scoffed a humorless laugh. "And … _why _am I an asshole?"

Mai's eyes narrowed at him. "Because you can't see it."

"See what?"

"That she loves you."

Zuko scoffed wickedly. "I don't care if she does, after faking a pregnancy to fuck me over one more time, I don't care if she kills herself…" he shook his head with a humored grin.

"Not Lydia, you moron!" Mai smacked him in the arm, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ugh, you fucking idiot." She murmured darkly. "Katara. _Katara, _you asshole!" she hissed in annoyance, shaking her head with her good hand clamped on her temple. "Katara Marina is madly in love with you, and you just keep fucking up with her."

Zuko pulled a face of sickness. "Shut … up." His voice stumbled over an air bubble escaping from his stomach. He shook his head and poured into his glass again. "Even if she was, it doesn't change anything." He grimaced as Mai took the glass right out from under him as he put the bottle down. He paused in thought. "Why? Did she say so?"

Mai rolled her eyes and took a sip. "Pretty much."

"Wh- what does 'pretty much' mean?" he frowned in concentration.

"I don't know, Zuko. Just 'pretty much'. I asked her and she said yes. After Katara caught Lydia out and she tried to kill her with a tire iron." Mai trailed off bitterly.

Zuko's eyes lifted from the glass, up to Mai's darkest brown, almost pure black eyes. "What? She did _what?_"

Mai paused and peered at him through narrowed eyes. "_No, _never mind, like you said; it doesn't _change _anything." She drawled sarcastically.

"Mai, come on. Okay, you're right, it matters. It changes stuff, just … tell me what happened." Zuko shook his head, his mind scattered by the alcohol in his blood. Now, for some reason he wished he wasn't so drunk.

The dark-eyed girl was silent as she put the glass down, and when she finally did speak, she spoke seriously, calmly and deliberately. "I was there; I heard the whole thing go down, and then I looked out the window and saw Blondie trying to choke your girlfriend with the tire iron. _I _knew about the hoax. I _also_ decided not to say anything. I told Katara to tell you, but by then, Lydia had the necklace and it was already a ransom job. Me, Azula and Ty Lee, we were training Katara up so she could kick Lydia's ass today, but Saturday night, the beans got spilled, and Monday turned into a nightmare where I got hurt, Ty Lee got hurt, you and Blue-eyes got hurt, and the only person who's completely fine, is Lydia." Mai took a breath and looked at the glass on the counter. "You fucked up big-time."

Zuko was silent, processing, for a bit, before simply exhaling. "Oh."

"Yeah. '_Oh'._" Mai's eyes fell on the designer furnishings of the expensive kitchen, remodeled during Ursa's reign of the home.

Zuko suddenly let out a single laugh. "Shit, I really _fucked up._" He agreed darkly, with a grimace afterward. _'That's what that bruise was.'_

"Then let's drink. Drink to a fuck-up of a day."

* * *

><p>"Mmnngh." Katara moaned into the crook of her own elbow, rested on the table of her math class. Her concentration in math was always limited, but hungover, partially drunk and as a result, somewhat sexually frustrated, she could only do her best to try and ignore every word from her teacher's mouth.<p>

Toph, beside Katara, was equally sexually frustrated, and was struggling not to eye the juniors' football quarterback sat in front of her, with a muscular _back, _even, and bare, muscular arms to boot, as she tried pointlessly to get her equations done. _'Fucking hell! Math is my strong subject! Why is this taking so long?' _her mind yelled at her. _'Okay, Toph, just think of it like an encrypted file. Decrypt the file. It's not an equation, it's a file.' _She gave a quiet grunt of annoyance.

"Is something the matter, Miss Bei Fong?" Mr. Hershey asked from the front of the class.

Toph looked up. _'Gee, thanks for blowing my concentration.' _"Aside from my headache? I'm fucking peachy. How 'bout you?" she hissed dryly. "Would you let me concentrate?" she snapped harshly.

Hershey only smiled. Toph was top of the class, and he understood her to some degree. She was doing her best, and that was enough for him.

'_Encryption. Encryption. Porn encryption.' _She managed a smirk as she inspected the paper. _'Porn. Sex. Aang.' _Her face fell again. She needed sex. And _soon._ She was _hot _against the sweat-inducing plastic of the seat under her as she focused on the marvelous biceps of the quarterback before her. She'd go for just about any dick you could throw her way at this point. _"Dammit, I need to get back on the subject! I can't be horny right now! I need to get these equations done!'_

She was snapped out of her daze by a loud ringing in her head. She looked up suddenly and saw the other students packing their things into their bags. Class was over? She was surprised; only minutes ago she thought she'd sat down. She looked back down to her papers. Two out of five problems solved. She packed everything except the papers into her bag and stood up like the rest of the class. She looked to Katara, whose face was buried in the crook of her elbow, asleep.

Toph poked her friend in the arm causing her to jump and sit up. "What?" she snapped at Toph in annoyance.

"Get up. It's lunch time." She grunted, raising a hand and pinching the bridge of her nose, hoping it would relieve her headache in the slightest.

Katara got up and allowed Toph to lead her out of the room, down the hall and into a flight of stairs they now commonly referred to as 'scissor-stab-station', or what Sokka called 'triple-S'; not that Sokka hung out with them or anything. Sokka and Suki were doing their own thing right now, unwilling to choose sides of the war between Katara, Toph, Aang and Zuko. As soon as they got into the stairwell, Katara dropped her bag and leant against the wall, staring out the window to the parking lot, where she could see Zuko's bike, with him leaning against it, with Aang, Mai and Azula hanging out.

How did he manage to look so _good _when he was moping?

Toph followed Katara's gaze out to Zuko and scoffed a laugh before singing out. _"Lonely, Katara's lonely, she has noboooody, fo-or her own; Lonely, she is so lonely, she got nobodyyy for her own …" _she shut up at a whack in the arm, but kept a grin on her face.

"Shut up, Toph." Katara seethed through gritted teeth, the musical tone in Toph's voice only aggravating her hangover. "My head is in shreds." She lifted a hand and pressed two fingers to her temple.

Toph gave a sigh and nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it." A thought occurred to Toph and she frowned. "Hey, Katara; are you going to tell Sokka, or Aang, or anyone else, about you-know-what?"

Katara figured she was talking about the GPS tracker she was actually currently wearing, inside her stomach, having eaten it like a pill. "No. I trust you can keep a secret." She glanced dangerously at Toph.

"Yeah, no probs." Toph held up her hands innocently. "I'm no blabbermouth."

Katara nodded thoughtfully, still eyeing the group outside. She saw Aang's placid expression and spoke without looking to the shorter girl. "Have you spoken to Aang since the night in the woods?"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Drop it, Katara. I know where you're going with this." She also looked out the window and saw Aang, leaning back against someone's car with a dull expression on. _Ugh. _"What the fuck have they all got to look so miserable about?" she wondered aloud. "All of 'em; they look like they just got slapped in the face."

Katara silently considered this; she already knew why Aang and Zuko were miserable, she and Toph were their reasons for it, Mai she supposed could be sulking for the pain in her wrist, and Azula … well, she wasn't a generally pleasant person, but she often smiled. Not out of friendliness, more out of cryptic deviousness. "Who knows." She mumbled pensively.

"Wanna go down and bother them?" Toph offered playfully. "I could go for a fight right now. Fighting's a good substitute for fucking, ya know. You get a rush from it, kinda like an orgasm …" Toph thought aloud.

Katara arched an eyebrow at her friend. "Okay, thanks for that, Toph. Really didn't need to know …" she shuddered, her fingers reaching up and combing through wavy locks of brown hair, ruffled from sleeping in class. "But I guess I should learn something today …" she noted dryly.

"Hey, could I go a round with you? Ya know, PL and all that, I figure if I can get you down for the count, I'll die happy."

"PL?" Katara frowned a moment. _'Painted Lady'. _"Oh. No, Toph … I'm way too hungover for that."

Toph grunted in displeasure. "Come on, I know where I can pick a fight without detention." her voice was tinged with deliberate dangerousness. Katara looked back at Toph at the sound of such a tone, wondering if Azula were standing beside her instead of the roughhousing Toph. It was a horrible thing to think, but when it came to physical combat, Toph became gravely serious.

* * *

><p>Toph marched up the hall with her fists balled at her sides, as if searching for someone in particular. Maybe she was, Katara supposed, but she had said she was looking for a fight. Katara was about seven feet behind her, trying to keep up. Toph stopped so suddenly that Katara nearly bumped right into her, despite the distance between them.<p>

"Hey, Haru!" Toph yelled out, grabbing a taller boy by the shoulder with a fierce grip.

'_Oh No.' _Katara winced at her battle cry.

Haru looked over his shoulder and stared at Toph, as if expecting a punch; by now it was no secret of Ty Lee's miscarriage, and Ty Lee's last boyfriend had been Haru. "Bei Fong." He stated plainly, turning fully and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What do you want?"

"Two hundred dollars. Basement, five minutes. You in or out?" Toph jerked her head toward the direction of what Katara figured was the 'basement' Toph was talking about.

Haru's face twisted into a grin. He could do with some spare cash and he was sure Toph was loaded with it. Unlike many of the students here at Dahlia Coast High, Haru wasn't exactly rolling in it. He currently lived in a trailer park on his own, and that alone was as much responsibility as he could handle. "Three hundred." It was a dangerous bet; he knew Bei Fong had it at the ready, but he scarcely had two twenty-five on him, and he needed gas for the Cadillac.

"Don't make wagers like that. You don't have three hundred dollars." Toph put her hands on her hips.

Haru grumbled under his breath. "Poker deal; all-in."

"No way. If you win, you get my six hundred bucks, and if I win, I get a measly two hundred. It's total bull. Two hundred square, brother. _In. Or Out." _Toph drummed her fingers on the metal belt around her slender hips.

Haru peered through slits of eyes at her. "Fine. Five minutes."

"See you in five." Toph jerked her head in a strange kind of nod and turned her back to him, walking past Katara and glancing at her funny as she passed. Katara's face was the epitome of shock. "Sugar queen, shut your mouth before you catch a fly."

Katara abruptly closed her mouth and walked after Toph. "You are _so _out of line right now!" she hissed at her friend. "Fighting for money- no! You're not even fighting for the money! You're fighting for a buzz!" she threw her arms up in exasperation.

Toph screwed up her face. "You sound just like Aang."

Katara's eyes widened to the point that she was sure they'd fall out. "Maybe he'd right! You are acting out! Toph, this is stupid; do _not _make me go to Aang about this!"

Toph turned and deliberately grabbed Katara's shirt. "You tell Aang about this and I'll tell Sparky about your belly-bug." She used her other hand to poke her in the chest. "Got it?"

Katara scowled and pried Toph's hand off her. "Got it." She mumbled. "I still think this is fucking stupid."

Something smacked on the hall floor. Katara and Toph suddenly turned to look over their shoulders and saw books on the floor, by pink, heeled shoes with tanned skin in them. They looked up the person's body to see daunting green eyes and hot pink lips pulled into a shocked grin, with blonde hair framing that sickening smirk and blush-covered cheeks. _'Belly-bug. HOLY FUCK-,' _Katara train of thought was cut off when Lydia started laughing.

"Who'd have thought it!" she shook her head in disbelief and lifted a hand to point at Katara. Her voice was so loud that the whole hall was looking. Dahlia Coast high school was a cesspool of gossipers, delinquents and nosy bastards. "Katara Marina … well, well, well. I wonder what kind of mum a suicidal little whore makes. I suppose you and Ty Lee Sisko should form a 'can't-keep-it-in-my-panties' club …"

Katara gnashed her teeth and lunged for Lydia, not thinking about the misunderstanding as much as she was about the insult. Lydia kicked of her shoes and began running barefoot away from Katara, down the hall, toward the door out into the sunlight. Toph took off after Katara, eyes wide with the same surprise on her friend's face on her own. Toph tried to think ahead to what Lydia was heading for out that door, and then it hit her like a train.

Zuko.

Up ahead she could see Lydia pushing through the door, and the door smacking right into Katara as it swung back. Toph winced mentally, catching up with her friend, who was regaining herself. Katara pushed through the door at a slower pace, defeatedly. Toph noticed a spot of red growing on Katara's forehead and figured she'd crashed right into that sharp metal bit on the door that everyone caught stuff on.

Before Katara was fully outside, Toph grabbed her arm. "Katara, if she tells Zuko that you're preggers, you can't protest."

Katara stared at Toph in disbelief. "WHAT?"

"Because if you do, she'll ask what 'belly-bug' means. And for you to catch that kidnapper, the plan needs to stay secret. Think of Tamsin Wade, Katara." Toph's grip tightened and her tone was flat and serious.

Katara stared for a little while longer. "But I haven't slept with anyone." She whispered in a low voice. "Zuko's going to know that."

"I'm telling you that's the best way to go. Nobody knows what you do in your own time. They can't say you haven't been sleeping with _anyone. _They don't know. Just be glad Sokka's not there." Toph exhaled. "Come on." she pushed Katara through the door, out into the sun and took her side.

Katara's face was painted in horror as she lifted her eyes from the damp ground at her feet and focused on the look of skeptic disbelief on Zuko's face as she stared at Lydia with his good eyebrow up. "Oh, god, Toph." She choked in terror.

Zuko looked past Lydia to Katara. To the terrified, horrified expression on the blue-eyed girl's face. Oh god. For once … for once, the blonde was telling the truth. His stoic, dark self took over as she tossed his head defiantly, glancing back to Lydia. "If she is, it's not mine." He grunted disinterestedly. _'How? How could she possibly be pregnant-,"_

Katara glanced at Toph, her expression changing from horror to … well, nobody was really sure of what it was. She marched up toward Lydia and grabbed her shoulder. She turned the older girl and stared her in the face. "Look, I don't know where you get off jumping to conclusions, but contrary to _your _fucking belief, I'm _not _pregnant." She spoke calmly.

Zuko felt his breath release from his throat. He hadn't even noticed it hitching there.

Lydia frowned. "Well then what was the 'belly-bug' you and Little-Miss-Rottweiler were talking about?" she tilted her head skeptically.

Katara smirked with a light expression. "I got a tattoo on my stomach, moron." She felt pride in said stomach as she spoke these words.

Toph's face split in a grin. _'Attagirl, sugar queen!' _she felt her mind yelling.

"A tattoo."

"Of a butterfly. At this place in town called the Magpie's Nest. Toph took me to get it done. If you want, I'm sure Ron will get you a huge 'BITCH' forehead tattoo to warn people…"

Lydia scowled and shrugged of Katara's hand. "Whatever. It's not like I care." She walked past Katara and waved a hand carelessly.

"Sure." Katara rolled her eyes sarcastically.

Toph smirked at Lydia as she pushed her way into the building again and walked up to Katara in the secluded parking lot. "Just for the record," she addressed Aang particularly. "It was _her _idea to get the tattoo. I wasn't 'acting out' and being a bad influence."

Aang scoffed. "Whatever."

Zuko looked to Aang with a sharp expression. "Fuck, man, is that it?"

Aang looked back to his friend. "What do you mean?"

"You're just going to be a bastard to her now?"

Toph frowned in confusion. "Hang on Sparky, _what?"_

Aang got up from his seat on the floor and shook his head. "Zuko keeps trying to interfere with … whatever's going on between us."

Toph glanced to Katara, thinking something along the lines of _'talk about twin souls …' _and pulling a smirk. "Maybe they have a point." She shrugged coolly.

Aang's face screwed up in a confused frown. That didn't sound like Toph; she was _always _right, and anyone with an opposing view was _wrong._ And by the way she said it, and the way he knew her, it wasn't what she actually meant. She wasn't saying _they _had a point. She was saying she was thinking about what he'd said; what _he _thought. Maybe … in her screwed up but brilliant head, she was willing to push through her own barriers to be with him. She was trying to be able to include others in her decisions.

That's what this whole fight was about.

If they were going to have a future together, she couldn't just unilaterally decide to break into a multimillion-dollar corporation, or get a nose piercing, or … or the other thing.

"Toph, why don't you want kids?" he blurted out suddenly.

Toph groaned out suddenly as she felt the air change around them. Zuko and Katara were taken aback. _That's _what all this was about? KIDS? They had years to think about this! Then again, if they were sexually active, it was probably something that came up at least once. Mai and Azula's brows rose and they exchanged thoughtful glances - they too were part of the female population who were unsure as to their maternal needs.

"This is _not _about kids, Aang. This is about you being unwilling to let me do anything on my own." Toph crossed her arms.

"No it's not. I don't care if you _do _stuff on your own. I'd just like to be part of the thought process that results in you doing stuff, and for you to be part of the decision-making when it comes to stuff _I _do. What if _I _want kids? Do you even care what _I _want?" Aang's face showed no anger, or annoyance. It showed pure curiosity and … need.

"Can we talk about this when we're not in public?" Toph pleaded hopefully.

"We haven't spoken since Saturday except for the few hateful glares and sharp insults, and it's pissing me off!" Aang threw his arms up in exasperation. "When are we going to talk about this? _Are _we going to talk about it?"

Toph stared at him for a moment. "Aang, pl-,"

"Why?" he snapped deliberately, dropping his arms to his sides.

Toph paused again to regain her voice. "Why what?"

"_Why _don't you want kids?"

The scared demeanor of the girl changed back to her usual stubbornness, like her eyes changed color, or her face morphed a little, or her muscles bulged in her arms of their own accord. "We're done talking about this." She ceded hollowly.

"Toph-," Aang tried desperately.

"_Done." _She repeated, turning her back to him. Katara turned to watch the girl walk toward the door, and stared on in surprise. The hard truth that now she was alone with people she was sure didn't like her right now hit her just as the door closed behind Toph.

Azula was the first to break the silence. "So, Katara - can we see your tattoo?"

Katara cursed herself; she was sure this would come up. She offered Azula a grateful smile for bailing her out of some of the awkwardness, but still looked a bit … unnerved. "Uh … no, it's really sensitive, I've got this huge band-aid on it because of the cold. I only had it done last night." She coughed nervously.

Mai cracked another rare smirk and turned around, lifting the bottom of her black thermal shirt, displaying a black, tribal pattern on her lower back. "They get really sensitive; mine was itchy for a whole month." She turned around again, dropping the shirt and crossing her arms again, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"Wow, that's really pretty, Mai." Katara's brow rose in surprise.

"Thanks." She replied plainly.

"Yeah, you should've seen me when I got all mine done." Aang let out a chortle. "I was so hot I ran naked through a public park in _January _to cool off. Good thing Tricia's a cop." He shook his head thoughtfully. "Should've seen the funny looks I got."

Zuko leant back on his bike again, just as Aang was, and looked to him. "I take it you have nothing against tattoos." He scoffed in amusement.

Aang laughed briefly. "No." he understood Zuko was referring to the huge design Aang had all over his body. Aang had had it done as soon as he hit age twelve and had the money to get it done. It was plain sky blue with no outlines, and often got him picked on, but he cared none.

"How does the piercing bother you if you've got all that-,"

Aang shook his head again. "It doesn't. It's actually kind of pretty. I'm just PO'd because she didn't bother asking my opinion on it. I didn't even know she wanted a nose stud. It's like she … locks me out. Like she's afraid I'm going to scrutinize everything about her." He pulled a face of pity.

"Well … maybe she is. I mean, her parents are pretty fucked up … she _says _they don't bother her, but we all know that's code for 'don't ask, I don't want to talk about it'." Zuko replied carefully, lifting a cigarette to his lips.

"We'll figure it out." Aang answered calmly. "She's thinking about it. I know it. She does this cave-thing, where she needs to think, on her own. It's just what she does. She'll come around."

"Who'd have thought you'd be the girl in your relationship, Aang?" Azula spoke up humorously.

"Me?" Katara fitted in, with a scoff.

Mai struggled to keep down the corner of her mouth. "I was about to say…"

Katara lifted her hand to check her watch and saw something red drop down from her eyebrow onto her wrist. Her other hand raced to her nose, as she wondered if her nose was bleeding. She felt no wet on her fingers and her hand raced up to her brow, where the blood touched her fingers with a hot sensation. She found the cut on her forehead and winced at the touch.

Aang took notice of the look on Katara's face, and then realized she was bleeding. "Oof." He pulled a face. "That's bleeding kind of bad." He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket; he kept them there in the cold season for sniffle-control. He tossed it to her.

Katara caught it in her hand and opened it. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Katara walked into the house at five after a refreshing walk back in the snow from school, to hear yelling in the study. Sokka and Hakoda were shouting at one another <em>angrily. <em>She dropped her bag to the floor and immediately ran to the study, standing in the doorway to see her brother and father standing adjacent to one another, both with crossed arms, facing each other.

"Sokka, Dad … what's all the shouting?" she pulled a face of confusion.

Sokka glanced to Katara before pulling an expression of distaste. "… You guys just _neglected _to tell me you were going to risk Katara for some stupid kidnapper," Sokka grunted out thickly.

Katara's face fell as her father replied. "Sokka, Katara understand the risks. This isn't just about Katara; it's about the many other girls this man has abducted, hurt … _killed _perhaps."

Sokka snapped back. "And if something goes wrong? If this guy has any shred of computing knowledge, he could find something to fuck it up. God forbid he got Katara with that fritzing device Toph stole and he used it to fuck up the GPS …"

"I gave that back to Toph. She's hidden it until this whole thing is over." Katara interjected. "Sokka, you know I can handle this." She pointed out.

Sokka frowned. "It's dangerous, Katara. Anything could go wrong-," he stopped at the sound of a knock on the door.

Katara turned out of the study and jogged to the front door. She calmly pulled it open and saw a smiling, familiar face. "Kelly!" she smiled happily back.

"Hey, kiddo. Jonesy said you were helping with the kidnapper thing. Just can't help but get into trouble, can'ya?" she grinned, holding in one arm a bag of groceries. "I came … to cook you an old-fashioned, traditional dinner. Kya used to do this all the time in college, just show up at my place and cook for me and my boyfriend-,"

"Dad this is fucking crazy!"

Kelly's face fell. "Ah. Sokka's …"

"An asshole? Yeah." Katara managed a smile. "Come on in." she opened the door wider and stepped out of Kelly's way.

Kelly laughed out, adjusting her hold on the brown paper bag of ingredients and walking into the house. Katara could already tell that the meal Kelly had planned would be delicious; and maybe a psychotherapist would be able to sort out this little tiff with Sokka. "By the sound of your father, he hasn't changed in the last thirty years …" she spoke thoughtfully as Katara led her into the kitchen. "I didn't really get to 'chat' with him when you got shot, it was more 'your kid's a super-villain, she's shot but she's fine, hi, nice to see you' and out the door… he's not really chatty when he's stressed, I guess. That means dinner will just be you and me trying to get them to talk to eachother, right?"

Katara tilted her head. "Probably." She agreed, as Kelly put down the bag of groceries. "How did you know all that?"

Kelly smiled. "Your mom was a psychiatrist to the end; she knew talking about things made it better. I guess that's why she was such a … happy person." She sighed reminiscently. "Always with the 'Are you okay? Want to talk about it?' questions … nosy pain in the ass." She laughed under her breath.

Katara smiled too. "I'll give you that. Nosy." She nodded. "She was lots of things, but nosy is the first word the comes to mind."

"And the second?" Kelly proceeded to unpack the groceries onto the counter.

Katara grinned. "Food."

Kelly laughed again. "Food indeed."

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, I know. All my time is just <em>_**gone **__since I had Toph. I mean, with the color problems, we have to buy the extra stuff for her, and she's a leftie, so we buy her the left-handed pens, and we even put her doorknob on the other side … and she's still so much work. I mean, the nanny does most of it, but it's so different in the house, it's like all my freedom is just zapped …"_

"_Oh, god, Lao, you will not believe what happened today. Toph was wearing that pretty little dress I bought in town last week, just looking in the mirror with this huge grin on her face, and I thought 'Oh thank god, she's going to come around', and then she went outside, I thought she was just going to, you know, hang around in it with the ducks by the pond, but as I was walking up behind her … god, Lao, she grabbed up a handful of the mud by the pond and … __**smeared **__it on the front of the dress. I was __**mortified. **__I was so upset, it cost so much … maybe I was out of line, but … I gave her a bump and she fell into the pond. I figured since she liked being dirty … how was I to know she'd freak out like that?"_

"_I don't get it, Lao. She's always been such a quiet child, it's not like her to be so physical. I can't believe she punched the swimming teacher. I just got off the phone with him, apparently he'd picked her up to get her in the water and she just __**freaked **__out - you know, like that time with the pond?"_

"_Toph? Toph, sweetie, what do you think of my new swimsuit?"_

"… _Lao, is it just me or is it quiet? Is Toph hiding again? Ugh, I hate when she does that. It's always in the basement; getting dust on her pretty clothes."_

"_Oh my god! Lao! Lao, look! She's __**playing**__ with that __**badger**__! Quick, save her! I'm calling the doctor!"_

Toph groaned into her pillow; stupid Aang and his stupid kids. Who the fuck - other than _him - _would ever see her as a mom? She'd be a _terrible _mother! She'd be like her mother! And that was the last thing she wanted; to be like Poppy. So how come when she'd picked up the pregnancy test in town, with part of the money won from Haru, she'd been … excited? Toph sat up and looked into the bathroom; it was still on the counter, it's result on it, just out of reading distance. She hadn't read it. She didn't want to.

Aang could forget about kids, right? For her? Sure he could.

But couldn't she give him the courtesy of … of _thinking _about it?

Her and Aang with two pretty babies that looked just like them?

Still; it was best to know. Toph got onto her feet and stalked proudly into her bathroom, grabbing up the pregnancy test, looking down at it stoically.

'_Negative. _

… _Good.'_

So why was she just the tiniest bit disappointed?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ZOMG I got this done in time to watch Hawaii Five O. I have to go, guys, you know I'd include you in my thought process if I had time! I promise I'll make up for leaving you like this! Just be glad I didn't wait to write a longer authors note and upload it an hour later!**

**LOVE YOOU!**

**REVIEW!**


	21. Champ

_**Hands**__; rough, strange, unfamiliar hands, all over her … just __**touching**__. Anywhere. Anywhere else. It's dark - dim. She feels her hands … tied? No … taped? Yes, taped - but it's wrapped around - the tape - two, three times. They're taped to one another, at the wrists, above her head. Her skin protests against the adhesive, and she pulls, but it does nothing. She's writhing, moaning. There must be some kind of drug in her system. He must have given it to her. She's taped down to some kind of low table, like in a dungeon, except with worn wooden walls._

_His hands delve somewhere else, under her shirt, under her bra. She seems to become more conscious at his rough groping on her skin, and she lets out a distinguished yell of 'NO'. It's soon followed by 'PLEASE' and 'DON'T DO THIS'. She is terrified. He grabs her mouth with one hand and grabs the top of her shirt with the other, pulling it and snapping all the buttons away. Tanned, California skin is revealed, with no cuts or marks. She is completely unharmed. So far. I take notice of my role in this; I'm watching this tanned girl with this man, from above._

_The man's hands grab her belt and frighteningly familiar blue eyes snap open, and even with his hand over her mouth, I can hear her gasp so hard she could suck up a beer in one breath. I jolt in my being. I try to reach out to the girl and am terrified - __**horrified, **__when __**her**__ hand moves, reaching out for __**me **__as he mounts her.__It was me who snapped open my eyes when he grabbed her belt, but her that commenced the action. I'm watching myself being raped._

"**MARINA!"**

"AGH! Fuck! Who died?" Katara jumped in her seat, those same blue eyes darting around.

Laughter echoed through the room, even from Zuko beside her, who seemed not to notice her fists clenched before her to keep her fingers from trembling, and her eyes dancing wildly for … something. Her hard breathing slowed and she managed to focus her eyes on Mrs. uh … Donovan, right? She shook her head and stared at the woman.

"Hello?" she swallowed thoughtfully. "What … what can I do you for?" she voiced tiredly. She'd been up late with Hakoda and Sokka yelling. She realized her mistake and corrected herself … badly. "I mean what for I can do-," she stopped. "What do you want?" she grunted in annoyance.

The laughter had built up with her mumblings, but subsided at Donovan's voice.

"What do _I _want? I want you to pay attention!" she snapped sharply, before smacking down Katara's essay on uh … what was it again? The Death Penalty? No, it was- "This essay is **un**acceptable!"

Katara snatched it up and glanced over it. "What's **unacceptable **about it?" she raised an eyebrow. _'Hang on … this isn't my essay.' _It was some essay about transformers, by Keith, who had really bad handwriting. She'd forgotten to put her name on hers, now as it seemed. Apparently Keith's name in his handwriting looked like 'Katara' to Mrs. Donovan. "This isn't my essay. This is Keith's." she turned in her seat to look at Keith, who was grinning at his mobile, and then turned back to Mrs. Donovan.

Donovan, not really one to be corrected, pulled a face and crossed her arms. "That's a new low, Katara - trying to pin this crap on another student."

Katara gawped at the teacher, before closing her mouth and replying calmly. "That's a new low, Mrs. Donovan, trying to pin this crap on _me._" She bit back. "But then again, I guess a zebra doesn't change its stripes."

The woman pulled an even uglier face than the one God had given her. "If I could, Marina, I'd have you not only removed from this class where you _do not _belong, but removed from this school as well." She snarled darkly. The class fell silent in shock.

Katara smirked and leant back in her chair with a scoff. "But alas." She simply replied. "It is I who belong here, and you who do not," she recited in old English.

Donovan's eyes popped. "How do you come to _that, _you deviant little monster-,"

A knock on the door interrupted the woman, who whirled around, desperately hoping it wasn't a high-up teacher at the door. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Sokka Marina. _'Wait, what?' _the woman stared. Oh no. Now there were TWO Marina kids in her classroom. She remembered having removed Sokka from her class before she had officially taken the position of a teacher in this class. Sokka and Katara were in the same English class.

"Miss me?" Sokka grinned at her, before looking to his sister. "English class chieftain say 'HOW'," he addressed the class, raising a hand formally. Sokka snorted a laugh at it and grabbed the empty seat next to Jet. "What'd I miss?" he ceded.

"Your sister's pissing off what's-her-face again." Jet leant back calmly.

Said 'what's her face' scowled and snatched the essay from Katara, crumpled it up and tossed it at Keith, who was startled by it. Donovan knew better than to mess with Katara while Sokka was present; unless she had a feasible reason for doing so. As of yet, Katara was in the right. Donovan hated it, but she allowed it, for now.

Lydia, sat behind Katara, popped a blue bubble with her bubblegum, leaning back and contemplating how she could start a fight with her. She'd do anything for another chance to kick Katara's ass and smash that pretty Filipino face into the back of her skull. For someone with so much fucking money, Katara could stand to wear something more flattering, for fuck's sake; Lydia's wardrobe came directly from famous Hollywood Designers like Gucci, Victoria Beckham, Coco Chanel, Lacroix, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Jimmy Choo and Vera Wang.

What was Katara wearing today?

Black skinny jeans with a black and silver belt, mid-calf, dark brown snow boots, a 'Linkin Park' t-shirt and that extremely over-worn leather jacket of hers. Brown locks waved over the girl's back and an idea spawned in Lydia's head.

Lydia leant forward in her seat, glanced around and put her hand to her mouth. She carefully pushed the gum out of her mouth and into her fingers, hiding it there as she moved her hand closer, inching, to Katara's hair. Six inches. She slid her hand across the table, very slowly. Three inches. She lifted her hand and leant forward a little more, involuntarily sprouting a smirk on her face. Two inches.

She jolted as a cold hand smacked onto her forearm and grabbed around her wrist. She felt her eyes bulge in her head for a moment, before she stared at the hand. Zuko had grabbed her wrist to stop her from sticking her gum in Katara's hair. He wasn't even looking her way, he was still toying with his iPod with his free hand, and probably hadn't even heard it; reflex, she guessed. Katara hadn't even noticed what had happened, and was sitting straight in her seat with her elbows on the table.

"Bitch." Zuko muttered, shoving Lydia's hand back at her.

Lydia crossed her arms in annoyance, before realizing the gum was sticking to her fingers, and now to her sleeve.

Katara didn't notice, and when Mrs. Donovan began handing out sheets of paper with text on them, she snatched hers up and began looking over it. It wasn't her essay; it was a notice, for the drama club. They were doing a performance of Macbeth. They were doing Macbeth over Desperation. Katara crunched the paper up and rolled it off the table.

"Is something the matter, Marina?" Mrs. Donovan sneered from behind her, handing out the papers.

Katara looked over her shoulder and considered calling Macbeth a tedious story of madness and ill intention that nobody much cared about, but she decided against it. "No." she replied calmly, lifting her pencil and chewing on it. She felt the rubber at the back of it coming loose.

"Good. Then you'll be happy to know I recommended you to Ms. Maxwell for the part of Lady Macbeth."

Katara hacked in shock and whipped her head around to stare at the woman, just as the rubber of the pencil came loose from the metal housing, hitting the back of her throat. She turned back to face the front of the room and coughed for a moment, smacking her own throat to free the choking cause. Zuko thought for a moment that she paled, and immediately gave her a slap on the back, causing the rubber to escape into her palm.

Katara coughed a little more, offered him a thumbs up as in 'thanks', and turned back to stare at the woman. "W-hat?" her voice came out jaggedly, thanks to the choking fit she'd just had.

"I figured since you enjoy a bit of drama …" the woman trailed off, hiding her self-satisfaction.

Katara gawped indignantly. "You think I like drama." She stated thickly.

Lydia spoke up from behind Katara. "'Course you do, dumdum - you practically idolize that slutty tart the _Painted Lady, _and not to mention your need to drum out your _oh-so-sad _'mommy-died-in-front-of-me story …" Lydia blurted mockingly.

Katara shot out of her seat like a lightning bolt, turning to face Lydia. "You want to say that to my face?" she glared down at Lydia.

Lydia got up and did so. "You're a messed up little nobody, Marina." She spat at her. "Go to hell and say hi to your mum."

"You fucking-,"

"Hey, Stop!" Sokka got up at the other end of the room. He stalked toward them and grabbed his sister's shoulder, glancing between the both of them. "You both need to take a walk; or this is going to get ugly." He put an arm between them to keep them apart.

Katara grabbed her brother's hand and shoved it off her. "Get off me." She growled darkly, before addressing Lydia. "It's time we finished this."

The class was on its feet; the girls wide-eyed in anticipation, the boys the same, only more so …

"For once we agree." Lydia's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, I said _take _a _walk_!" Sokka yelled at his sister.

"Back off, Sokka, this is my business." Katara shoved him away. "Outside, Roberts. Loser drops out of this English class."

Lydia grinned. "I look forward to seeing Zuko peel you off the floor. Ten minutes, in the gymnasium."

Katara tossed her head in a sort of nod. "Done and done." She grabbed her bag from the floor and flung it over her shoulder, her eyes darting to Sokka's and then Zuko's - both in wide-eyed wonder and unabashed shock. "Don't look at me like that." She hissed. "Someone's gotta do it."

Sokka frowned. "She's gonna clean the floor with you."

"That's what you think." Katara answered simply.

* * *

><p>"Katara Marina," Katara snapped her head to a voice at the other side of the girls' locker room and saw Toph approaching with a can in one hand and a bag in the other. "To thee I bow, to thee I offer sacrifice, to thee I offer my Red Bull." She tossed the can to Katara and dropped the bag by the bench. "Heard you're kicking Lydia Roberts' ass."<p>

Katara smiled weakly, opening the can. "Unless the army of jocks accidentally lets a teacher through before I do. Jet and Haru have the entire football team blocking the teachers out, only letting kids into the gymnasium, Aang's got his track buddies running scout information along eachother back to the gym … somehow the whole school's waiting for either me or Lydia to go down."

"They're rooting for you, Katara." Toph insisted calmly. "Lydia's only been here like, two months. Nobody even knows her. Plus, people know you as the girl who punched Jet Miller in his pretty-boy face and scared the crap out of Mrs. Donovan, the terrorist teacher. You're hardcore, Katara."

Katara managed a smile, looking down at her hands. She had wrapped her knuckles in white boxing bandaging, to minimize damage to her hands; the ones she needed to pull the triggers against the heads of her mother's killers, and turn the pages of 'The Dark Tower'. "You think this is a bad idea?" she wondered aloud.

Toph shrugged. "You've made worse."

Katara felt a single laugh escape involuntarily. "Yeah, I guess." She paused, taking a sip of red bull. "It just occurred to me, you know … I make a lot of bad choices. Lying to Zuko, robbing stores, getting shot, etcetera …"

"Etcetera, etcetera." Toph repeated twice, in a phony Siamese accent.

Katara perked up for a moment. "Ooh, we should totally watch that movie sometime; if I don't end up in hospital. I haven't seen 'The King And I' since I was little."

"Mmm-Hmm. Bloodshed first. Movie later. You want to borrow my knuckledusters?" the green eyed girl offered hopefully.

Katara raised an eyebrow. _"No _I don't want to borrow your _knuckledusters_," she scoffed in disbelief. "And people say _I'm_ a psycho."

Toph raised her hands innocently. "Hey, just offering. You might want to try putting a roll of quarters in your fist-," she backed toward the door with her bag slung over her shoulder. Katara hadn't even noticed her pick it up.

"Toph!"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Toph laughed maniacally, turning and pushing out into the hall. "Stand tall, champ. If you're going down, grab for them blonde locks and take her down with you." She called behind her.

Katara shook her head with a laugh as the door swung shut, and then buried her face in her hands and shook it some more. Katara glanced down at her Linkin Park t-shirt and grabbed its bottom, pulling it off over her head, exposing a low-scooping, navy blue camisole tank top with spaghetti straps. She didn't want to get any blood on the shirt. She touched her necklace and frowned, before taking that off too, slipping it into her boot on the floor, where her phone, iPod and wallet were hidden.

The rules had been relayed with a track runner; no weapons, light sneakers, hair tied back, and no scratching, clawing, biting, slapping, gouging or breast-punches. Katara intended to comply with those rules; whether Lydia did, she knew and cared not. If she could beat Lydia even against the odds, she'd be happy. She wanted this to be over. She wanted Lydia gone, really, but she couldn't really tell her to leave the country.

All Katara knew was that she was going to fight as if she were taking down her own inner demons.

And she knew for a fact that it would be enough.

* * *

><p>There was a blur for a moment as Katara stumbled back a few steps, a punch to the mouth having split her lower lip and given her a bloody nose. There were echoing voices of encouragement in a foggy haze around her. She could hear Toph in the front row, shouting at her, half in excitement, half in panic. Sokka, she knew, was silent, just worrying. How long had it been since this had begun? Five minutes? Ten?<p>

'_Rock-a-bye baby.'_

The blur of Lydia's fist flashed in front of her and she ducked sideways. She couldn't see; she was sure she was bleeding from somewhere other than her face, but she didn't know. Bruises adorned her forearms and shins from blocks and kicks. This was so stupid. She remembered the reason for this; she needed Lydia to go down. Just once; she needed to see Lydia hurt in reparation for what the blonde had done to _her._

'_In the treetop.'_

Katara's legs wavered under her and she let them collapse, expertly rolling onto her back and pushing back onto her feet around the other side of the paint-marked ring. She'd only been off her feet for a moment, but she was grateful for it. Her eyes focused finally and she could see the angry expression on Lydia's own bruised face; Katara was putting up a fight this time, and Lydia was more tired out than Katara by a long shot; however Katara wasn't so good at blocking, and as a result had more injury.

The crowd was a continuous roar of 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!' and the few panicked yells between them were scattered and weak against the crowd's shouts. Aang and Zuko, she'd learnt before she'd begun, were trying to push through to stop this, but the crowd was like a protesting mob, like that in Tripoli.

'_When the wind blows.'_

"What's … the matter … Marina?" Lydia panted in fatigue, struggling to stay upright, "… going … to faint?" she cackled cruelly.

Katara gasped for breath, heaving in determination. "Eat … shit … puke on … your shoes." She grunted out as her lungs burnt. She had a stitch under her right rib and desperately wanted to clutch it for a breather. "Self … righteous … whore …" she forced out the words.

Lydia continued to grin in heavy breath, and didn't answer. She advanced on Katara again, slowly; like the gum and the hair, before Zuko had grabbed her hand. Katara stayed still. She moved a little more. Katara stiffened and raised her hands carefully. The scene reminded her of Sokka's cat getting up on its hind feet and going for Ollie when she felt like it. If this was what sex was like, as according to Toph, Katara would die a virgin.

'_The cradle will rock.'_

They had entered the ring and circled for a half minute before Lydia had lunged for the younger girl, like a beast going for its kill.

Katara was waiting for her strength to come back, and then she'd take Lydia down for good. She could hear the football team struggling to keep the teachers out. What had Azula said? To use her surroundings? There was a brick wall at one side of their ring, though nothing else. The wall was opposite Katara, behind the blonde. If she managed it, got past Lydia and positioned herself correctly, she wondered if she could take Lydia down in one fell swoop.

Katara made a last-gasp sprint for it, ducked past Lydia and snatched her own feet off the ground, leaning backward and lingering in thin air for a short time, she was sure.

Her legs protested as her feet hit the floor, but she forced herself on. The bottoms of her feet came crashing against the wall and she allowed her body to get closer to the wall, so she could capitalize on all she could as she pushed herself off of it, turning back to face Lydia as she rebounded off the bricks. One foot extended in mid-air and came exploding through the space between them. She was vaguely aware that the first two teachers had slipped past and were pushing through the crowd to them.

'_When the bough breaks.'_

Katara's foot sank into Lydia's middle and Lydia stumbled back.

'_The cradle will fall.'_

The blue-eyed girl struggled, but got her feet on the ground under her. She watched as Lydia struggled to stay on her own feet, falling backward and stepping into the wobbly exhaustion that the final blow had forced upon her. The winner was already declared. She was down for the count.

'_And down will come baby.'_

Lydia sank to her knees and fell forward, hands in front of her smacking on the laminate wood. The teachers finally exploded through the barricade and into the gymnasium. Toph and Sokka burst through the bleachers and vaulted over the barriers to the fighting ring. Sokka grabbed his sister's arm to lead her away from the teachers to avoid her getting in _huge _trouble, but Katara stayed stone still, staring as the blonde went down, collapsing to the floor. Defeated.

'_Cradle and all.'_

* * *

><p>Katara drowned everyone out for the rest of the day. She sat through detention in silence, staring forward in some kind of disbelieving shock. What had once seemed impossible was now done. It was empowering, she supposed, but somehow made her fear her own capabilities. She would dream later that night, on the couch, that she had used some unimaginable strength in her hands to force Lydia to the ground with some impossible skill; like Lydia was just a puppet that she could discard if she wanted.<p>

She wondered if her humanity could just as easily be discarded, with the right corruption of her morals.

Lydia was in the nurse's office, most likely, despite not being hurt nearly as bad as Katara, who had just been given a pack of tissues and told to 'clean herself up'. She got home later and trudged through the house, into the living room. She saw Charlie, her teddy bear, sat on the couch and instantly smiled warmly. She was exhausted too.

She groped the light-switch and turned off the living room lights, closed the curtains and turned the TV off, before sinking down onto the couch and pulling a fuzzy blanket over herself, cuddling up with her teddy bear. She dropped off like a pile of bricks, bruised, exhausted, but happy.

When she woke up, every part of her body was sore, and burning. She blinked in the dark and sat up, pushing away the blanket and looking around in the black. She grabbed the arm of the sofa and got up, struggling to get to the hall in the dark on wobbly, weak legs that threatened to drop her to the floor. She needed a bath; hot or cold, she hadn't decided yet. She supposed a hot bath would soothe her muscles, and a cold one would ease the burning pain all over her body.

When she got to her room, the bed looked more inviting than anything she'd ever seen before. She forced herself into the bathroom and turned the opened the cold faucet all the way, running her hand under the flow as it splashed into the bath tub. She plugged the drain and closed the bathroom door behind her. She suddenly remembered that there could potentially be a pervert kidnapper spying on her as she shrugged off her jacket, and she pulled a dissatisfied expression.

She grabbed the string on the blinds and allowed them to roll downward over the window, shielding her from the outside world. She walked to the other window and did the same with the blind over that one, before proceeding to kick off her shoes and peel her clothes from her sweaty, bloody skin. When she was finally naked, she slipped into the cool water and relaxed against the lounge side of the bath, a smile finding its way onto her face. Her hands gripped the handles on either side of the tub, and she kept her knees up and her legs bent as she focused on the cool, tingling sensations on each and every cut or bruise on her body.

She couldn't understand why a lullaby had been running through her head as she fought Lydia. It made no sense. Katara had always disliked lullabies; perhaps her mind had been meshing together two things she disliked; Lydia and lullabies. She doubted it, though. She tried to recall why she didn't like those childish bedtime songs … of course, rock-a-bye baby had always been one she disliked more than the rest; she didn't like the whole idea of a baby falling out of a tree…

She also didn't like 'twinkle twinkle little star', mainly because she'd had a mobile over her cradle as a baby that had cranked it out insidiously - now she realized that the mobile must've been old, or exposed to moisture, or something, but the damn thing had always scared the shit out of her. Even now, when she heard it on some car commercial, it gave way for a shiver to run up her spine.

She supposed there were some lullabies she liked; 'Toora, Loora, Loora' and 'All The Pretty Horses' (Though she was disappointed when she woke to discover she did _not _have all the pretty little horses), and perhaps even 'Hush, Little Baby,' but for the most part, she disagreed with the whole practice of singing such things to infants. If she knew nothing else from her mother's psychiatry skills, she knew that many things from childhood affected people throughout their lives.

Like, for instance, the reason they hadn't had a dog until Ollie was because her father had been badly bitten by a neighbor's dog when he was five. Of course, he knew not all dogs were like that, but subconsciously, he'd had a fear of dogs as a result.

Katara smiled serenely, sinking into the bath a little further, her mouth disappearing beneath the surface. Lydia was defeated. The blonde would drop out of her class and she'd be allowed to enjoy English - as much as she could with a teacher like Donovan - without her bothering her or trying to assault her. She wondered if Lydia would leave her alone for good, but she couldn't help but doubt.

'**FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHATCHA TELL ME! FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHATCHA TELL ME! FUCK YOU-,'**

Katara jumped in the bath a little before shaking her head with a scowl and sitting up. She reached out onto the floor and grabbed her jacket with dry hands. She slid her phone out of her pocket, pressed the green button and brought it to her ear. "_Hello…?_" she snapped in annoyance.

"_Hey, Sugar Queen!"_ Toph's voice chirped from the phone. _"Before I say anything, congrats on taking down Blondie."_

"Thanks." Katara yawned, leaning out of the bath with her elbows on the side of it, to make sure if she dropped the phone, it would be out onto the floor instead of into the water. "And thanks for, you know, interrupting a relaxing bath …" she added dryly.

"_Soh-rryyyy …" _Toph drawled innocently. _"Well, anyway, Me, Suki, Sokka, Jet, Mai, Azula and Jin have organized a celebratory party for you. Tonight, at eight, at that great five-star restaurant on the beach - you know, The Aristocrat?"_

Katara's eyebrows suddenly went up. "How did you get reservations?" she wondered aloud.

"_Have you forgotten my last name, Katara?"_

Katara laughed for a moment and nodded, though Toph couldn't see it. "Right. Of course. So … Aang and Zuko … not coming, then." She assumed disappointedly.

Toph paused for a moment. _"I called Aang and told him, but … Sorry, Sugar Queen … things are complicated with me and Aang. I just don't see why he wants to have kids with me. I mean, have you __**met **__my mother?" _Toph gave a grunt of displeasure.

Katara frowned. "But you aren't your mother."

Toph was silent for a bit. _"Anyway, be there at eight. Dress nice. You should see Jet in a tie, it's the cutest thing you ever saw." _She joked amiably. _"I mean, other than Aang in a suit. You should've seen him at Christmas." _Toph's voice wavered in remembrance. Katara heard Toph swallow back the lump in her throat.

Katara gave a sigh; she wanted to say it couldn't compare with Zuko's appearance in a suit, but she restrained. "I'll be there." She informed her friend adamantly. "See you at eight."

"_See you."_

Katara hung up and dropped the phone onto her clothes, hanging her head a little. She wished Aang and Zuko would come. God, she wished things were like they'd been back around Christmas time, maybe even as far back as November. All of them - Katara, Sokka, Aang, Toph, Suki and Zuko - at the ice cream parlor, like things had always been. She shut her eyes and gave another heavy sigh. She'd do anything to go to the diner as a group of friends just one more time.

She suddenly felt the cool of the water turn cold against her skin and she immediately got out of the bath. She glanced at the clock above the mirror over the sink. It was already six thirty. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, stalking out into the bedroom. She was going to dinner with whatever friends she had left.

* * *

><p>At eight fifteen, Toph walked back into the restaurant, tucking her phone into the small, dark green handbag she'd received for Christmas, but hadn't used until now. She approached the table her party was sat at and addressed them calmly. "Katara's running late - she had some trouble getting a ride, but Kelly's driving her over now." Toph strolled expertly around the table in green, closed-toe heels and put a hand on her hip. She looked out into the night, out the restaurant window, onto the beach and caught her own reflection looking back at her.<p>

She could say all she wanted about 'girly' clothes, but she looked amazing tonight.

Toph hadn't traded in her eyeliner for a plain look, but had sculpted her make-up so her eyes were defined, her lips were a soft and transparent pink, her cheeks were a pale blush and her green eyes were perked up by the color of her dress, a dark, forest green, knee-length with loose elbow-length sleeves and a golden trim. Most of her hair was pulled back into a stately up-do, though her classic bangs remained free. Golden teardrop earrings fell three inches from her earlobes. She'd made an effort to look good tonight; Suki had helped.

Speaking of Suki, she wore a tan halter-top cocktail dress that came to her mid-thigh and her favorite new cage-heels; the ones she'd bought to go with her leather pants, only to discover she'd given them to Katara. Her hair was tied in a high-ponytail that came to her shoulders, though a lone strand of hair framed one side of her face. She was wearing the silver necklace Sokka had bought for her as reparation for the incident at Christmas time.

Azula had slipped into a maroon, short-sleeved evening dress with a plunging neckline, that came halfway down her calf, as she tried to convince her brother to join her to dinner; explaining what a sad state of affairs it was that she was going to Katara Marina's celebratory dinner party and he wasn't. As she'd pulled her hair into a bun at the back of her head, with her two bangs at either side of her face, she'd told him that even if he showed up late, his appearance would be appreciated, and as she slid her feet into black, peep-toe stilettos, she told him she'd left a red tie for him in his bedroom should he change his mind. She'd put her gold and ruby heart earrings on in the car on the way over as Mai drove.

Mai herself was wearing a sheer silk, black, split-neckline, long-sleeved shirt-dress that came just past her behind, and as a result was an excuse for her to wear suit trousers and black pumps. She had considered inviting her boyfriend to come along, as she'd put on black, twisting medusa earrings, but had decided she couldn't be bothered.

Jin had been shocked when Jet had brought a dress and an invitation over to her; a single-sleeve, gold dress that came mid-thigh with a bottom trim of golden, iridescent feathers. The lone sleeve it had was just a strap, but it also had feathers on one side, making it look like a short sleeve. She couldn't get over how Jet could get past everything that had happened before they had hooked up - how a guy with a reputation as a womanizer had understood the situation with her and gotten into it anyway.

Sokka and Jet were dressed in smart black suits, shiny black leather shoes and crisp white shirts, one with a robin's egg blue tie, the other with an umber-brown tie.

With their sophisticated outfits, none of them had needed any identification to order their first drinks - especially when the names on the reservation were 'Bei Fong-Marina-Scorsese-Tamesis'.

"Should we order her a drink?" Jin wondered aloud.

"Yeah - I'm pretty sure she likes rosé." Sokka answered, waving over a waiter.

"What?" Toph sat down beside Sokka and an empty chair, glancing at him with a skeptic expression. "She's been a whiskey-lover for as long as _I've_ known her."

"I've known her longer." Sokka replied curtly.

"I thought she was a champagne drinker. That's what everyone was talking about after Zuko's New Years' party." Suki raised a lone finger pointedly.

"We used to drink Budweiser all the time when we were dating." Jet interjected thoughtfully.

"You can't drink beer in a restaurant like this," Mai pointed out.

"She hit the burgundy pretty hard at my birthday party," Azula added diplomatically - as diplomatic as one could be while saying such a thing.

"White." Someone spoke up from afar.

The conversation quieted as the table turned their heads to the sound of the voice. Zuko was approaching with his hands in the pockets of suit trousers, the suit jacket he wore ruffled as a result. He wore the same red tie Azula had left for him. Aang was at his side, wearing the same unsure expression as he was, with a cream-gold tie stiffly coming down from his white collar.

"Get her something white - on the rocks." Zuko stepped closer to the table and put his hand on the middle of three empty seats, the one to his left beside Toph, and the one to his right beside Jin. He marvelled at how they'd reserved such a large table on such short notice. A timid smile took over his face as he looked over his friends. He hoped this went well.

Aang sat between Zuko and Toph and gave Toph a polite smile, leaning to kiss her on the cheek. "You look great." He noted warmly.

Toph felt a blush creep over her cheeks. "So do you." She replied happily. "Thank you for coming."

Aang smiled at her for a moment, before putting his hand on hers, on the table. "You're welcome." He blushed himself and felt contentment sink into his heart. This was all right. Them together, not fighting; this was how things were supposed to be.

The waiter got to the table and smiled politely at Sokka, who quickly ordered a bottle of their finest white in ice, and a glass - he figured Katara would be drinking heavy tonight. The waiter walked away to retrieve the bottle, and the conversation kicked up again.

"So, Zuko, does this mean you and Katara are friends again?" Suki asked tentatively.

Zuko paused for a moment, glancing to Aang - the two of them had spent the drive over deciding what to do about Toph and Katara, having come to the conclusion that things could only be sorted out working as a team. "Yeah. I guess it does." He smiled brightly, a nervous blush taking him over. He was going to do things right; he was going to be upfront and he wasn't going to walk away anymore.

"Alright! Boomerang Squad is go!" Sokka chirped happily, putting an arm around Suki and slapping a kiss to her cheek ecstatically. He leant back in his chair and recited his favorite line from the A-Team series; "I love it when a plan comes together."

Toph couldn't help but add a line of her own. "Etcetera, etcetera." She grinned.

Mai's eyebrows rose and she glanced to Toph. "You saw that movie? That's a _great _movie."

Zuko stayed silent as the table chattered away, his eyes fixed on the door - waiting for Katara. When she walked in, ten minutes after he had, he couldn't help but let his mouth fall open and his eyes pop slightly.

Katara stalked into the restaurant on black, sandal heels with five-inch heels and peep-toes, exposing pretty feet and pampered toes, a flowing, knee-length, dark midnight blue dress with tight elbow-length sleeves and an off-shoulder, décolleté neckline, with a gathering centrally between perky breasts. Her mother's necklace was fastened around her dainty neck, its pendant sitting squarely in the dip between her collarbones. A long, low, thick braid began at the base of her skull and ended neatly in the small of her back, and two thin strands of hair came down from her hairline, just interrupting the view of pretty cerulean eyes.

She stopped suddenly at the sight of Zuko and Aang and a smile lit up her face, in turn bringing a smile to Zuko's face. "Zuko!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey," he answered contently, pushing his seat back and standing up. He took the back of the chair next to him and pulled it out from under the table for her.

Katara felt a visible pink blush on her cheeks as she walked around the table to the last remaining seat. "I didn't think you would come." She slid into the seat, looking up over her shoulder at him, trying to decipher his expression.

"Yeah, well, I figure getting rid of Lydia kind of made up for the shit flying around between us," he shrugged calmly, his eyes spotting a cut on her lip that was expertly covered by clear pink gloss. How could she look so great after a battle so epic? "You look amazing," he kept his eyes trained on her, as he sat back down.

"Same goes for you, Mr.-Suit-And-Tie." She reached out and snaked her hand around his tie playfully, smiling, before laughing briefly as she took her hand back. Zuko spotted the few cuts on her knuckles from fighting. He imagined she bore many bruises under that dress. He felt something jump in his trousers and decided to stop thinking about anything under that dress.

Katara felt a knowing smile on her face when the waiter brought over the bottle of wine and shot it at Zuko, who just shrugged and poured her, and himself, a glass each. Dinner consisted four combo-platters being shared throughout the table - with barbeque ribs, fried king prawns, yakatori chicken skewers and plenty more. Dessert varied between the diners, but most ordered the cherry pie with cream, with Sokka being awkward and ordering 'a huge bowl of chocolate éclair-balls with like, a scoop of ice-cream for each one', Toph and Aang sharing a sundae and Zuko being incredibly awkward and getting a restaurant like The Aristocrat to give him an ice-cream-soda.

After dinner and dessert, the kids left the table with their bottles and glasses and headed out onto the balcony, where a near-full moon shone down from over the water. Azula, Mai, Jin and Jet had taken to sitting at the outdoor seats, even in winter, Toph and Aang were hanging out on the small swing-seat by the glass door onto the balcony, Sokka and Suki had disappeared to the bathroom, and Zuko spotted Katara leaning against the rail, drinking and looking out to sea.

"Hey - what's up?" he asked, taking a spot beside the rail, holding their second bottle of white in his hand.

Katara offered a vague smile. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing if it's on your mind." He pointed out reasonably.

She offered a single laugh and shook her head. "Maybe," she replied simply, her eyes pointed out to the water. "Maybe I miss being the Painted Lady just a little bit. The fight today was … I guess it was like Toph said. It was a rush."

Zuko pulled a face. "If you do it for the rush, then you're doing it for the wrong reason."

Katara nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She paused a moment and added in thought; "Actually, most of my other fights, I didn't have that rush. Except fighting you." She noted with a blush and a dirty kind of giggle.

Zuko blushed despite himself. "That wasn't a fight. That was unfair."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Unfair?"

"You had a …" he paused, turning red for a moment. "… Sexual … advantage …"

Katara cackled wildly, before taking a sip from her glass. "In other words I was grinding on you." She smirked into her glass.

Zuko was sure he couldn't have gotten any redder. "How do girls say shit like that? Look at me, I'm _blushing_." He laughed into the night. "And _I'm_ nota virgin."

"Aw …" she turned and put her free hand to his heated cheek. "You're not blushing _that _much. You're pink. And it's cute." Zuko felt his heart leap at her touch, and he was sure she could feel the heat under her hand increase.

There was a long, awkward silence in which she drew back her hand and looked out to the water again, careful to avoid eye contact. She did her best to push down the tingling excitement in her stomach and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Uh … I mean … it's uh … a nice change… because you're usually so … y'know … confident …" she cursed herself and gave an annoyed frown, sipping for her glass again. "Or whatever …"

Zuko allowed a smirk play onto his face. "Now who's _pink_?" he pointed out in amusement, his voice rasping just a little as he turned his head to catch her blushing the same pink as he just had.

Katara managed a nervous smile, and a tiny laugh of slight discomfort. She was terrified of how hard she was blushing. She didn't know if Zuko knew she liked him back, but she knew there was tension between them. She wondered if the tension between them as Katara and Zuko could ever match the tension between the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady.

"You're drunk," she glanced at him, catching a soft, affectionate look in his eye that made her want to kiss him.

Zuko smiled and tilted his head in protest. "When does four glasses get you drunk?"

Her brow lifted and she lifted a hand to finger the tail of her long braid, now sitting over her shoulder. "When you're flirting with your best friend…?"

"I'm nowhere near drunk. You've seen me legless," he leant against the balcony rail, looking out to sea, his fingers drumming against the wood, cold winter air ruffling his dark hair. "If I were drunk right now, I wouldn't just be flirting with you, I'd be …" he paused to raise an eyebrow and look back at her from the water with a smirk. "I'd be _grinding _on you."

Katara pulled an impish expression and then smirked. "So you admit to flirting with me. And if you're not drunk …" she looked into her glass and swirled it a little, "then _why_ are you flirting with me?" she smiled absentmindedly.

Zuko's smile seemed to drop halfway. There was a short silence in which he frowned and then frowned even harder. He turned his head back to the sea and looked to the bottle of wine in his hand, now wishing he was as drunk as Katara had insinuated. "I don't know." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess it's like we said … when Toph asked why we flirted all the time. Because we're best friends." He uncapped the bottle and took a swig.

Katara's smile seemed to droop. "Oh. Right." She lifted her gaze from the glass and glanced at him in disappointment, before looking away. Maybe she'd been right; maybe, if they'd ever had a shot before, it was gone now, thanks to her stupidity. "Of course."

At the tone in her voice, Zuko's frown softened, and he stood a little straighter. Was she disappointed?

Katara's eyes trained themselves on the moon above, as she mused on her relationship with the boy, no, man, beside her. Perhaps things were better this way. As her friend, she was only obligated to tell him as much as she told any other friend of hers. As her boyfriend, she had to tell him everything - especially because they had so much trouble overcoming the product of lies. She didn't want him to know about her project with the CBI, and certainly not about the kidnapper spying on her, or the pictures recovered from the scene he'd rescued Jin from.

She watched the light on the water shift and glow on the surface as the waves lapped against one another and the air took the water with it. Besides, she was a virgin. Zuko, quite self-proclaimedly so, was not. He probably wanted a sexual relationship; just like the one he'd had with Lydia. They'd jumped into bed within, what; a week of meeting one another? She felt her stomach lurch; if she was to decide not to be with Zuko because of Lydia, she'd scream. Which was why this wasn't because of Lydia. This was because she couldn't be obligated to tell her deepest darkest secrets to someone she liked so much.

She'd had her chance with Zuko, though she hadn't known it, and she'd let it fly away on the breeze.

Zuko stood straight and placed the bottle of wine on the wide rail of the balcony, his eyes fully taking in Katara. He wondered how, as Mai had said, a beauty like Katara could possibly like him in the same way he liked her. He wondered, with passion, what a future with her would be like. He wondered how the girl who haunted his dreams and filled his fantasies could possibly have the same emotions for him. He took a careful, but deliberate step toward her.

She glanced at him, just vaguely registering his movement in her fugue of decision, but felt surprise wash over her as he took yet another step closer to her, and he came so close he hovered very near to touching her if he leant too far one way. She felt her hand let go of her glass, leaving it on the rail of the balcony as she opened her mouth to ask what he was doing.

He leant down and pressed his lips to hers, eyes shutting in the one leap of faith he'd ever taken in his life … well, other than becoming the Blue Spirit. Whatever word Katara had begun to say was cut off by the kiss, and whatever the words to follow had been, they had slipped out of her mind. The lids of her eyes fell shut and she felt bliss wash over her as the kiss intensified, just a little bit beyond open-mouth.

Beyond, Jin, Azula and Mai looked on, Jet being distracted. Azula and Mai exchanged glances that expressed that their work was done; Jin leant back, happy for her friends. Toph smacked Aang on the arm and pointed at the two lovebirds, a grin overcoming her. Aang smiled warmly and proceeded to lead her into the restaurant, giving them as much privacy as they could get with the other four around.

Zuko felt his heart leap into his throat; she was kissing him back, his hand was rested on her shoulder, her hand was flattened against his chest, the moon was shining brightly on them, and the pleasant, subtle, almost nonexistent aroma of white wine filled the air between them. For a long ten seconds, they were each other's. Everything else melted away and all conception of consequence and result had left their minds. He lovingly lifted a hand and brushed one of the strands of hair in her face behind her ear.

The first emotion after surprise, for Katara, was euphoria, and then confusion. This couldn't be; she'd just decided that this was a road with bad bumps ahead, and she could go down it. There was _too much _passion between them; too much _fire_. Katara knew she couldn't handle the kind of fire there was sparking between them in this moment - especially with the huge secrets that lay beneath the surface of each pair of lips. She pressed her free hand against Zuko's chest, next to the one already placed there, and pushed him away, turning her head away from the kiss, shutting her eyes almost in shame.

The confused disappointment in Zuko's eyes that she only glimpsed out of the corner of her eye was enough to make her feel like the world's biggest bitch. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately, just a little bit incensed.

"I can't." she whispered into the night air, insecurity running amok through her head. "This … this is a mistake." She backed away from him slowly, lifting a hand to her face and touching two fingers against her lips in disbelief.

Zuko seemed clearly ticked off for a moment, but Katara knew this was a defence mechanism he put up to keep from being hurt, or otherwise negatively emoted. "A mistake?" he felt his voice crack just a little, and he was sure the sound of his voice made Katara's shoulders droop a little more. His eyebrows tilted up and he felt his rejection make its way onto his face.

Katara forced herself to look him in the eye, though it made her blood run cold and her head twist in agony. "I-," she stopped herself and shut her eyes, never finishing what she had tried to say. She turned away from him and made her way to the glass door of the restaurant, biting back traitorous tears that dared to fall down her cheeks. She wondered why _she _felt close to tears; Zuko was the one being wronged here.

She needed to go home.

* * *

><p>Leant against the counter in the kitchen, Katara shot a dark look at her reflection in the window. Her makeup was running, her lip-gloss had stopped covering up the cut on her lip, her earrings were strewn somewhere upstairs, her hair was still, somehow, in its braid, but she doubted it would be for long. She'd taken off her dress and changed into her pyjamas, and a pair of fluffy boot-slippers.<p>

Her necklace and shoes were also in her room, though she had taken more care with them than she had the earrings. Dinner had been great, she concluded, though the kiss that had followed had confused her to no end. She watched the steam rise from the kettle as her eyes were settled on the mug before her. Hot chocolate powder and sugar had mixed at the bottom of the cup and she waited to pour in the final ingredient to her drink. It was a shame there were no marshmallows or whipped cream in the house.

She reminded herself to thank her friends later for putting together such an amazing night.

Katara allowed her mind to ponder the kiss; it had definitely been a good kiss, and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed it. She loved Zuko. Perhaps that was the crux of the problem. She was afraid of how much she cared for Zuko; the end of them would surely tear her apart, had she let them begin. She sighed heavily and allowed a smile onto her face, to accompany the blush on her face. She had liked the kiss.

The kettle made a beep and she lifted it from its cradle, pouring the hot water into the mug, filling it to just two inches below its lip. She set the kettle back into its cradle and turned to the other side of the kitchen, opening the drawer for a teaspoon. She felt every part of her body protest as a tight bear hug enveloped her. She let out a cry of terror as a hand came over her mouth, effectively stifling her voice.

This was the man from her nightmare.

A wave of horrifying realization washed over Katara; she was alone in the house, except for the man behind her, holding onto her for dear life, unwilling to let his prey escape. She hadn't even heard him come in; he could have been waiting for her the entire time she'd been out. Hakoda was out at a bar or something with Bato and Kelly, trying to set them up, Sokka had gone to Suki's, and she was alone.

Except for the man behind her.

She wanted soft arms around her whispering that everything was all right. She wanted her mother to grab the arm of that bully at the park and tell him to go pick on someone his own size. For a moment, the hand disappeared from her mouth and she was able to breathe, shouting out in a last-gasp cry for help before the black bag came down over her head and she breathed in the thick gases of chloroform.

He whispered in her ear, as if she were a child; the same child Kya had protected at that park.

"_Shhhh…"_

* * *

><p>AN: As you can see, this is a cornerstone in our story. Season finales always are. The season finale of 'Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates', the first season, has now been written. Stay vigilant for Season 2; 'Life Is Like A …'

**I had to do this; I can't think of any more chocolates! Plus, I always love the season finale of Grey's Anatomy; there's always some tragedy or something. I've been watching for seven seasons - but this year's finale sucked :\ so I made one of my own!**

**And you thought Lydia was the antagonist …**

**Will Katara make it back to the people she loves?**

**Will she ever make it to the men who killed her mother?**

**Will that mug of hot chocolate ever be drunken?**

**Find out in Season 2; 'Life Is Like A …'**

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


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